Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 22.41 per cent in May from 22.22 per cent in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.
The statistics office said the May 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.19 per cent points when compared to April 2023 headline inflation rate.
The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.70 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2022, which was (17.71 per cent).
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of May 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., May 2022),” it said.
President Bola Tinubu had, in his inaugural address on 29 May, announced the removal of fuel subsidy.
Following the announcement, the NNPCL directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre, an almost 200 per cent increase from the initial price below N200.
The hike immediately triggered an increase in transportation fares and prices of goods and services by various percentages.
Inflation has remained high in Africa’s largest economy, prompting the apex bank to hike interest rates to their highest levels in nearly two decades.
In an aggressive push to contain the nation’s inflationary pressure, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in May, raised its benchmark lending rate to 18.5 per cent.
The NBS said food Inflation was 24.82 in May, up from 24.61% in April.
