The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported a significant rise in Nigeria’s inflation rate, reaching 33.95% in May 2024, driven by continuous increases in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices.
According to the NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Saturday, the inflation rate in April was slightly lower at 33.69%, marking a 0.26% point increase month-on-month.
Comparing year-on-year figures, May 2024’s inflation rate showed a stark 11.54% point rise from May 2023’s rate of 22.41%.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate for May 2024 stood at 2.14%, marginally lower than April’s 2.29%.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages emerged as the primary drivers of inflation, registering a steep 17.59% increase. This was followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 5.68%, and clothing and footwear at 2.60%.
Transport costs also contributed significantly with a 2.21% increase, while furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance saw a 1.71% rise.
Breaking down the urban and rural inflation rates, the NBS reported that urban inflation climbed to 36.34% year-on-year in May 2024, compared to 23.74% in May 2023. Meanwhile, rural inflation rose to 31.82%, up from 21.19% in the previous year.
Food inflation specifically soared to 40.66% in May 2024, marking a substantial increase from 24.82% recorded in May 2023.
Contributing factors included items such as semovita, oatflake, yam flour, garri, beans, Irish potatoes, yams, palm oil, vegetable oil, stockfish, mudfish, crayfish, beef, chicken, pork, and bush meat.
Month-on-month, food inflation slightly decreased to 2.28% in May 2024, down from 2.50% in April.
The NBS highlighted that the persistent rise in inflation, particularly in food prices, underscores ongoing economic challenges and the need for targeted policy interventions to mitigate its impact on households across Nigeria.