The inflation rate in Nigeria is infinitesimal, but experts are not comfortable with it, as they believe that worse days await the country, which majorly depends on oil for survival.
Some have decried the effect the rise in consumer price index will have on the country’s economy, while advising the government on steps to take to reposition the economy.
One area they seemed to agree on is the mono-economy being operated in the country. Nigeria’s major source of revenue has been oil, but in the last two months, there have been sharp drops especially in prices and demand, and cut in production and unsold cargoes.
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Another area is in the devaluation of the naira, which is as a result of the decline in crude oil price.
President of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Dr. Femi Egbesola, said it was high time the government looked inwards and diversified the economy through aggressive development of the agriculture sector and massive support for Small and Medium Enterprises.
He said, “The inflation rate hitting 12.26 per cent will spell more hardship for ordinary Nigerians as prices of goods go up. We import most of the things, and we operate a mono-economy – depending only on oil.”
Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said though the inflation rate might be insignificant, it only spelt worry for the days ahead.
“The inflation rate in March 2020 over the February figure was 0.06 per cent. This is not really significant, but an increase nonetheless. The bigger worry is about the outlook in the next few months.
“Expectedly, we are already witnessing a sharp depreciation in exchange rate as a consequence of the slump in crude oil price,” the DG said.
The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had on Tuesday, April 21, released the inflation rate for the month of March at 12.26 per cent, indicating a 0.06 per cent increase from the month of February 2020.
However, experts believe the inflation report in the coming months will be worse based on the present economic reality.
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