Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 24.23% in March 2025, up from 23.18% recorded in February, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report indicates a continued upward trend in inflation, driven primarily by rising food prices, increased transportation costs, and persistent supply chain challenges.
On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate in March stood at 3.90%, marking a significant rise of 1.85 percentage points from the 2.04% recorded in February. This suggests that the rate at which prices increased in March was significantly higher than in the previous month, pointing to intensified cost-of-living pressures for consumers.
The report further revealed that the food inflation rate for March 2025 rose year-on-year to 21.79%, highlighting the persistent surge in the prices of essential food items such as grains, bread, dairy products, meat, fish, and fruits. The food index has remained one of the main drivers of overall inflation, due to disruptions in local food production, insecurity in farming regions, and the high cost of transportation and logistics.
Other major contributors to the rising inflation include housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, as well as clothing and footwear.
Analysts believe the continued inflationary pressure poses a significant challenge for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has been tightening monetary policy in a bid to stabilize the naira and control rising prices. However, with persistent structural issues such as energy shortages, insecurity, and forex volatility, inflation is expected to remain elevated in the near term.
The sustained increase in inflation also puts added strain on household incomes, especially for low and middle-income earners, and may impact the country’s economic growth outlook if not adequately addressed.
Economists are urging the federal government to adopt a more coordinated approach that includes aggressive investment in agriculture, infrastructure, and energy, alongside fiscal discipline, to tackle the root causes of inflation and ease pressure on consumers.
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