Nigeria’s Headline Inflation Rate Falls to 24.48%
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell to 24.48% in January following the consumer price index (CPI) rebasing exercise carried out by the statistics office in 2025.
The rebasing of the CPI included important improvements to methodologies, expansion of the product categories or food varieties and a new, closer base year that allows the headline inflation rate to capture current economic changes.
The rebased headline inflation dropped from 34.80 per cent in the pre-rebased period of December 2024 to 24.48 per cent in January 2025 after the rebasing, the Statistician-General of the Federation Adeyemi Adeniran announced this on Tuesday.
He said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and commodities – has declined to 24.48 per cent year on year in January. Adeniran who was speaking during a briefing in Abuja, explained that urban inflation stood at 26.09 per cent while rural inflation came to 22.15 per cent
He said that the general prices of goods and services in the country declined, compared to the 34.80 per cent in December, which used the old template. The rebasing of the conumper price index means updating the reference year used to gauge price levels in the country by essentially changing the basket of goods and services used to measure inflation, to better reflect current consumer spending patterns and ensure the inflation data accurately reflects the economy’s current.
According to the CPI figures for the period under review, the rebased food inflation stood at 26.08 per cent year-on-year in January, representing a decline in the food index when compared with 39.84 per cent year-on-year recorded in the preceding month
Similarly, the rebased core index which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy stood at 22.59 per cent year on year in January. According to the NBS, the rebased CPI reflects the current inflationary pressure and consumption pattern of people living in the country.
When it announced the rebasing exercise last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said consumption patterns had changed significantly since the last rebasing and it would use 2024 as the new base year when calculating inflation.
Inflation has climbed sharply as a result of moves by President Bola Tinubu to end costly subsidies and devalue the local naira currency. Tinubu’s administration hopes those reforms will shore up public finances and boost economic growth. Diversified Economy Crucial to Nation’s Sustainable Growth – Edun
