(Ecofin Agency) - Nigeria has been grappling with rising inflation for months, making it a major concern for the government. In response, several initiatives have been launched to try to curb these inflationary pressures.

In July 2024, Nigeria experienced a slight drop in its inflation rate, which now stands at 33.4%, down from 34.19% in June, according to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This marks the first time in a year that inflation has eased, following a continuous rise from July 2023 to July 2024.

Despite this overall reduction, the rising cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages continues to strain Nigerian households. The NBS report highlights that food inflation in July 2024 surged to 39.53% year-over-year, a significant jump from 26.98% in July 2023. This decrease in inflation comes as President Bola Tinubu’s administration implements a series of measures aimed at controlling the rising prices. These measures include a salary increase of 25% to 35% for workers in April 2024 and the reactivation of a direct social transfer program to support the most vulnerable families. Additionally, to ease the burden on consumers, the government has suspended import taxes on essential goods like cowpeas, maize, rice, and wheat.

In addition, the Central Bank of Nigeria has raised interest rates three times since the beginning of 2024 and has indicated that it will maintain this restrictive monetary policy for as long as necessary to curb inflation.

Nigeria’s inflation had been relatively stable since December 2022, when it was at 21.34%, but began to surge again after the Tinubu administration announced the removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023, which further intensified the inflationary pressures.