From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), yesterday, said that the nation recorded an all-time drop in inflation rate to 15.60 per cent in January, 2022, year on year from December’s 15.63 per cent.
Announcing the figure in Abuja, the Statistician General of the Federation (SG), Dr Simon Harry, said that the figure is 0.03 per cent lower than the 15.63 per cent recorded in December, 2021.
On food inflation, Harry explained that the composite food index rose by 17.13 per cent in January, 2022 compared to 20.57 per cent in January, 2021.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals; food product such as potatoes, yam and other tubers, soft drinks, oils and fats, and fruits. On month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.62 per cent in January, 2022, which was down by 0.57 per cent points from 2.19 per cent recorded in December, 2021. The ‘’all items less farm produce’’ or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 13.87 per cent in January, 2022.
The NBS boss explained that urban inflation rate rose by 16.17 per cent year-on-year in January, 2022 from 17.03 per cent in January 2021, which was lower by 0.86 per cent points. On the other hand, rural inflation rate increased by 15.06 per cent in January 2022 from 15.92 per cent in January 2021, which was lower by 0.86 per cent points.
Meanwhile, National Bureau of Statistics, yesterday, announced that Abuja recorded the highest inflation with 18.59 per cent followed by Kogi with 18.28 per cent and Bauchi, 17.61 per cent.
Conversely, Kwara recorded the lowest with 12.94 per cent followed by Niger with 14.10 per cent and Oyo, 14.19 per cent. However, food inflation, state by state, on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi with 22.61 per cent followed by Enugu with 19.84 per cent and Akwa-Ibom (19.67 per cent), while Sokoto had 14.18 per cent, Bauchi (14.63 per cent) and Kaduna (15.01 per cent) as the lowest in January 2022.