Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased marginally to 34.80% in December 2024, up from 34.60% in November, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) data reveals the increase was driven by higher demand for goods and services during the December festive season.
Food inflation, a key driver of the overall inflation, surged to 39.84% year-on-year in December 2024, a significant rise from 33.93% recorded in the same period in 2023. The NBS attributes this rise to higher prices for staple foods such as yam, maize, rice, bread, and fish, among others.
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The broader cost of living has intensified as food and commodity prices skyrocket, contributing to what many consider Nigeria’s worst economic crisis since independence. Since President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023, inflation has soared by over 12 percentage points from 22.41% to the current 34.80%, a consequence many experts link to his policies on fuel subsidy removal and the unification of exchange rates.
In a bid to address the crisis, President Tinubu has set an ambitious target to reduce inflation to 15% in 2025. This goal was outlined in his ₦49.7 trillion budget presentation to the National Assembly in December 2024, although economists have expressed skepticism about its feasibility.
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