Nigeria’s annual inflation rate eased to 23.71 per cent in April from 24.23 per cent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.
The statistics office said the April 2025 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.52 per cent compared to the March 2025 headline inflation rate.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 9.99 per cent lower than the rate recorded in April 2024 (33.69 per cent).
This, it said, shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) decreased in April 2025 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., April 2024), though with a different base year.
The NBS said that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April was 1.86 per cent, which was 2.04 per cent lower than the rate recorded in March (3.90 per cent).
“This means that in April 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2025,” it said.
According to the report, food inflation rate in April 2025 was 21.26 per cent on a year-on-year basis. This, it said, was 19.27 per cent points lower compared to the rate recorded in April 2024 (40.53 per cent).
Nigeria has experienced a sharp increase in food prices in recent years. This trend worsened in 2023 following President Bola Tinubu’s removal of petrol subsidies and adoption of a floating exchange rate for the naira.
This shift has led to a steep increase in the cost of staple food, pushing many Nigerians further into poverty and heightening food insecurity.
The persistent price surge over the past year has led to several farms and businesses closing, with many agricultural producers scaling back their output due to insecurity and unpredictable weather conditions affecting rural areas.
In response, Mr Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food insecurity in July 2023, aiming to combat rising food costs. Despite these efforts, at the time, food inflation has continued unabated.
In July last year, Mr Tinubu unveiled some proactive measures to address skyrocketing food prices in the country. Amongst these is the decision to suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on importing essential food items such as beans, wheat, and husked brown rice.
In February, the NBS said Nigeria’s annual inflation rate dropped to 24.48 per cent in January from 34.80 per cent in December 2024 after rebasing.
(Premium Times)
