The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, says headline inflation rate hit 31.70% in February.
This marks a 1.80 percentage point increase from January’s 29.90%.
On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate is 9.79 percentage points higher compared to February 2023, when it was 21.91%.
Food inflation stood at a staggering 37.92% in February, up 13.57 percentage points from the same month last year, driven by rising prices of essential food items.
“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, oil and fat, meat, fruit, coffee, tea, and cocoa,” the NBS said.
The removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira currency have contributed to the inflationary pressures, sparking protests across the country.
Despite the surging inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor had earlier expressed optimism about a potential decline, citing measures aimed at reining in inflation to 21.4% and improving agricultural productivity.
