By Francis Ajuonuma
As predicted by economists, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 24.23% in March 2025, according to the official government data yesterday from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The country’s inflation rate rise, from 23.18 per cent in February 2025 to 24.23 per cent in March 2025, reflected a significant increase in the rising commodity and energy costs in the last few weeks.
According to the March 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report, which measures the inflation rate released by the government agency on Tuesday, the country’s food inflation rate was 21.79 per cent year-on-year in March 2025.
However, the food inflation rate decreased compared to the 23.51 per cent recorded in February 2025.
Economists had predicted that the country’s inflation rate, which decreased minimally in February, would rise when the Dangote Refinery and the state-run NNPCL got entangled in a petrol price war. This war culminated in the temporary termination of a naira-for-crude agreement between the two oil companies and the subsequent increase in the pump price of petrol.
Food and commodity inflation have skyrocketed as Nigerians battle what can pass for the worst cost-of-living crisis since the country’s independence over six decades ago. Economic wizards have attributed this development to President Bola Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the forex rates.
