By Williams Anuku Abuja
Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 17.33 per cent in February from 16.47 per cent recorded in January, representing the highest point since April 2017.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) /Inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the food inflation stood at 21.79 per cent, the highest point since the 2009 data series began.
The report revealed that on a month on month basis, food price inflation was highest in Kogi at 3.34 per cent, Ondo at 3.33 per cent and Ebonyi at 3.26 per cent, while Benue and Niger at 0.90 per cent, Kano at 0.70 per cent and Oyo at 0.09 per cent recorded the slowest rise in a month on month food inflation.
The report said the food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Kogi at 30.47 per cent, Ebonyi at 25.73 per cent and Sokoto at 25.68 per cent, while Gombe at 19.32 per cent, Bauchi at 18.74 per cent and Akwa Ibom at 18.70 per cent recorded the slowest rise in year on year inflation.
According to the report, the headline index increased by 1.54 per cent in February.
“This is 0.05 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in January at 1.49 per cent. The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months ending February 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 14.05 per cent, showing 0.43 per cent point from 13.62 per cent recorded in January 2021,” the report explained.