President Bola Tinubu, who inherited his predecessor monetary policies, announced the remove of the exorbitant controversial petrol subsidy, which spike rises in food and transport fares angering unions who have threatened strikes.
Tinubu’s reforms compounded the crisis of living as August inflation figure rose for an eighth straight month from July’s 24.08%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Food inflation, which accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s inflation basket, rose to 29.34% in August from 26.98% in July, as price of staples rise, according to NBS.
And the last time Nigerians experienced such level of inflation was in August 2005, according to official data.
Razia Khan, Standard Chartered managing director and chief economist, Africa and Middle East said;
“Nigerian inflation rose faster than expected in August, a month that more typically sees seasonally subdued inflation pressures,”
“The inflation data in our view reflects only in part the lifting of the subsidy. Much of the pre-existing pressure came from Nigeria’s monetary policy stance in the months that preceded this outcome, and the continued naira depreciation on the parallel market,” he added.
Meanwhile, Economic analysts said naira depreciation, higher fuel and food prices, logistics costs and money supply growth, were some of the major drivers of Nigeria’s inflation.
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