Nigeria has continued to experience 15 consecutive months of ostensibly rising inflation with the inflation rate hitting 33.69 per cent in April.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its consumer price index report released on Wednesday, showed an increase of 0.49 per cent when compared with the March figures which was 33.2 per cent.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2024 was 2.29 per cent, which was 0.73 per cent lower than the rate recorded in March 2024 (3.02 per cent). This means that in April 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2024.
The food inflation rate in April 2024 was 40.53 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.92 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023 (24.61 per cent).
The high cost of transportation, which rose by 79.17 per cent in March this year and the insecurity that has made it difficult for farmers, especially those in the northern part of the country to go to their farms, thus creating food shortages, are said to be the main drivers of the inflation.
Other drivers include high energy costs following the increase in the prices of fuel and diesel and the epileptic power supply which has forced manufacturers to rely more on diesel for their production activities, multiple taxation as the government struggles to raise more revenue to finance its budget, as well as high exchange rate.
The persistent rise in prices of Household items has exposed Nigerians to excruciating hardship.
