The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has decried the current inflation rate of 18.12 per cent in Nigeria, saying it is still high.

LCCI’s Director-General, Muda Yusuf, stated this on Tuesday in Lagos, following the April inflation rates reports by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Mr Yusuf added that the inflation rate of 18.12 per cent was high, despite the 0.5 per cent decline from the March 18.17 per cent figure.

Food inflation also dropped to 22.72 per cent in April from 22.95 per cent reported in March. This translated to a 0.23 per cent decline, while core inflation soared to 12.74 per cent from 12.67 per cent during the same period.

Mr Yusuf noted that food inflation at over 22 per cent was still high, despite the marginal moderation in food prices in April 2021. According to him, despite the five-basis points moderation in consumer prices, the inflation rate remained high, as it doubled the Central Bank of Nigeria’s upper target range of nine per cent.

The LCCI boss pointed out that several structural constraints, including insecurity, had undermined the impact of monetary interventions on agricultural output.

“The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry notes the marginal moderation (year-on-year) in headline inflation as domestic prices accelerated by 18.12 per cent in April 2021 compared to 18.17 per cent reported in the previous month.

“This is the first time the economy would witness a moderation in consumer prices since August 2019 when the Federal Government shut the land borders.

“The chamber notes the slight moderation in food prices on a year-on-year basis in April 2021 (22.72%) compared to 22.95 per cent reported in March 2021,” said Mr Yusuf.

He further noted, “However, food inflation at over 22 per cent is still very high in spite of the marginal moderation in food prices in April 2021.

“The situation has continued to impact the activities of every economic agent, including households, businesses and investors with profound impact on the citizenry, particularly the low and middle-income households.

“The high level of inflation continues to dampen consumer purchasing power at a time households income are not increasing in proportion to cost.

“High inflation environment also impact businesses in terms of rising production costs and depressed margins, making it increasingly difficult for corporates to deliver impressive returns to shareholders. This has implications for the sustainability of investments.” 

The LCCI boss was optimistic that the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee, set to meet next week, would address the persisting inflationary pressure should the economy maintain its positive growth trajectory in the first quarter.

“Tightening policy stance by raising the monetary policy rate would naturally have implications for interest rates across key segments of the financial market. Overall, we believe effective synchronisation of fiscal and monetary policies is crucial in the fight against high inflation,” he said.