The intention of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was to reduce Nigeria’s inflation figure to a single digit figure in other to achieve meaningful economic growth, but factors not envisaged when that plan was unveiled might be making that dream unrealistic, BAMIDELE FAMOOFO writes.
Nigeria’s headline inflation appears to have defied all monetary policy logics as the figure continues to notch higher month-on-month, thereby causing untold hardship for a population of about 200 million people.
According to experts, some of the implications of the unceasing rise in inflation are a rise in the cost of raw materials which will push up the cost of living. They said rise in prices also has the tendency to cause greater volatility and uncertainty in the economy.
The consumer price index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in November showed that headline inflation moved up by 0.52basis point year-on-year in October to 14.23% from 13.71% in September.
Meanwhile, economic analysts with Cordros Research said they are not surprised that cost of living in Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation is rising on a consistent basis.