Ondo Leads as 10 Nigerian States Battle Highest Inflation in May 2023

• About 10 Nigerian states have seen considerable increases in inflation in May 2023
• Food inflation recorded the highest spikes in those states with is led by Rivers State
• The states of Taraba, Sokoto, and Plateau had the slowest inflation on year-on-year bases.

According to investment analysts, Nigeria’s headline inflation will rise above 23% on the back of recent government policies, which include fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), leading to the massive depreciation of the naira.

However, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report that headline inflation rose year-on-year by 0.19 percentage points to 22.41% in May 2023 from 22.22% in April.

May inflation is the highest in 18 years

May inflation rate is the highest since September 2005 and the third straight month of staying within the 22% zone.

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NBS said:

“Looking at the movement, the May 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.19 per cent points when compared to April 2023 headline inflation rate.”

Vanguard reports that the NBS said that food inflation rose to 24.82% in May from 24.61% in April due to an increase in oil price and fat, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, fruits, meats, vegetables, and spirits.

The NBS data said three states in Nigeria experienced the highest inflation rates in May 2023.

Ondo, Kogi, and Rivers recorded inflation rates of 22.84%, 25.70%, and 25.02%, respectively, for all items from May 2022 to May 2023.

States with the slowest inflation for May 2023

However, Taraba, Sokoto, and Plateau had the slowest inflation on year-on-year bases.

An analysis of the month-on-month inflation rates, Osun, Ebonyi, and Taraba witnessed the highest spikes at 3.05%, 3.02%, and 2.81%, respectively.

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On the other hand, Ogun, Nasarawa, and Imo had the slowest increase in month-on-month inflation.

Regarding food prices, Rivers State experienced the highest increase for May 2023, with a rise of 3.74%. Others are Osun and Kogi states at 3.44% and 3.38%, respectively.

Sokoto, Kano, and Nasarawa saw the slowest increase in food prices during the same period.

Top 10 states with highest inflation

Ondo, Kogi, and Kwara ranked at the top of the list, while Sokoto, Taraba, and Kano witnessed the slowest increase in food prices since May last year.

Ondo experienced year-on-year food inflation of 30.26%, followed by Kogi at 29.8% and 29.52%, respectively.

Top ten states with the highest inflation rate for May 2023

• Ondo
• Kogi
• Rivers
• Bayelsa
• Ebonyi
• Lagos
• Anambra
• Oyo
• Delta
• Yobe.

Lagos, Kwara on list of states with highest, lowest food inflation rate in Nigeria

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Legit.ng earlier reported that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria's inflation rate rose by 22.04% yearly in March 2023, making it the highest in over 17 years.

During the cash scarcity challenges in February, Nigeria's headline inflation rate stood at 21.91%.

NBS stated this in its latest consumer price index report published on its website.

Source: Legit.ng