By 
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has responded to the latest inflation data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which shows Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 22.97% in May 2025, down from 23.71% in April.
In a statement issued by its Director-General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, the Chamber described the development as a modest but positive shift following months of persistent inflationary pressure.
Dr. Almona attributed the slight decline to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) sustained monetary tightening efforts, including interest rate hikes and liquidity management tools. However, she cautioned against over-optimism, pointing to unresolved structural challenges that could reverse the gains.
“While this downward trend is encouraging, it must be viewed with caution, especially as Nigeria continues to face mounting risks from food production shocks and supply chain disruptions,” she noted.
She highlighted the resurgence of farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt and recent flooding incidents as threats to agricultural output, warning that these developments could constrain food supply and elevate food prices in the coming months.
Further compounding the risks, she said, are ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the impasse in the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks, which could fuel global supply chain instability and raise import costs for Nigeria, especially for fuel and other essential commodities.
“With global oil prices rising amid persistent conflicts and trade wars, import costs are likely to climb. This has serious implications for food inflation, which remains a dominant component of Nigeria’s headline inflation index,” Almona added.
To address these concerns, she advocated a coordinated mix of fiscal and monetary policies, including reforms in the oil and gas sector. She emphasized the importance of sustaining the Naira-for-crude policy and the mandatory crude supply to local refineries to ease energy cost pressures.
She also advised the CBN to maintain a prudent monetary stance while expanding credit access to the productive sectors—particularly agriculture and manufacturing—to boost domestic supply and mitigate inflation from the supply side.
“The discontinuation of ways and means financing must be sustained, regardless of fiscal pressures,” she asserted.
The LCCI Director-General also urged the government to scale up investments in dry-season farming, irrigation infrastructure, and agricultural mechanization, to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture. She emphasized the need to enhance logistics systems, particularly for moving food from rural farms to urban markets, in order to cut post-harvest losses and ease price volatility.
In addition, she called for strategic government spending that prioritizes high-impact sectors such as food, energy, and transport, while simultaneously closing leakages and strengthening social safety nets for vulnerable households.
“While the easing inflation rate is a welcome development, Nigeria must not lose momentum in tackling the structural drivers of inflation. The LCCI calls on the government to act decisively—address insecurity, invest in resilient food systems, and improve policy coordination—to ensure this progress is sustained and inclusive,” Almona concluded.
Comments