January inflation drops to 15.13%, says NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s official data agency, has said January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, again dropped to 15.13 per cent, up from the December 2017 level of 15.37 per cent.

Breaking down the January CPI report released yesterday, the NBS said the new figure is 0.24 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in December, making it the 12th consecutive disinflation in headline year on year inflation since January 2017.

The report said increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) divisions of all consumption items that yield the Headline Index.

“ On a month-on-month basis, the Headline Index increased by 0.80 per cent in January 2018, 0.21 per cent points higher from the rate of 0.59 per cent recorded in December 2017. The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12-month period ending January 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12-month period was 16.22 per cent, showing 0.28 per cent point lower from 16.50 per cent recorded in December 2017.”

It further added that the urban inflation rate rose by 15.56 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2018 from 16.78 per cent recorded in December 2017, while the rural inflation rate also eased by 14.76 per cent in January 2018 from 15.02 per cent in December 2017, while On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.83 per cent in January 2018, up by 0.17 from 0.66 per cent recorded in December 2017, while the rural index also rose by 0.77 per cent in January 2018, up by 0.23 per cent when compared with 0.54 per cent in December 2017.

It explained that the corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 16.55 per cent in January 2018, which is less than 16.92 per cent reported in December 2017, with the corresponding rural inflation rate in January 2018 now being 15.89 per cent compared to 16.10 per cent recorded in December 2017.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday revealed that it has in the past two years of the implementation of its Anchor Borrowers Programme disbursed N55 billion to over 250, 000 farmers.

The Acting-Director, Corporate Communications Department, of the apex bank, Mr. Isaac Okorafor revealed the figure yesterday in Abuja during a media briefing.

The ABP launched in Kebbi State on November 17, 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari was designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not only to ensure increased agricultural output of rice and wheat, but to also close the gap between production and consumption, with the ultimate goal of checking against food inflation brought about by import cost.

He said out of the N55 billion provided by the apex bank, 80 per cent, representing N44 billion was given to rice farmers alone.

He said the need to provide rice farmers adequate funding was to ensure self-sufficiency in rice production and to also ensure that Nigeria becomes a net exporter of the product.

The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) President, Aminu Gorongo, said that unlike in the past where the anchor borrowers programme partnership was between the CBN and state governments, a private sector-driven initiative has been launched to drive the programme.

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