President Bola Tinubu
Nigeria’s inflation to hit 25% – World Bank, as UN says 4.3m Nigerians face severe hunger
Nigeria’s 22 per cent inflation rate is projected to hit 25 per cent following the removal of petrol subsidy, according to the World Bank.
This is also as the United Nations has stated that a total of 4.3 million Nigerians now face hunger and various forms of malnutrition, ‘particularly in the North East region of the country.
President Bola Tinubu, last May 29, announced the scrapping of the controversial subsidy on imported premium motor spirit (PMS), also called petrol, in a move which immediately triggered massive hike in the pump price of the commodity barely hours after the decision was taken.
A consequent decision by the Organised Labour to embark on a nationwide industrial action was halted with the constitution of a tripartite committee comprising government, labour and agencies to work out modalities for implementation of palliatives and proper pricing of petrol, in addition to addressing the issue of local petroleum refineries’ operations.
However, prices of commodities including food have continued to rise, amid a corresponding drop in the exchange rate of the Naira against the US Dollar, arising from the collapsing of multiple exchange rates into a single window.
In its recent Nigeria Development Update report for June 2023, the World Bank projected that the country’s inflation may hit 25 percent in 2023 as a result of petrol subsidy removal.
However, the bank noted that although there will be a significant increase in 2023, headline inflation will fall by the first quarter of 2024.
“The removal of the petrol subsidy is anticipated to cause a temporary increase in inflation in the upcoming months before contributing to disinflation in the medium term. The price increases resulting from the subsidy removal will have a one-time impact on prices, primarily affecting petrol purchases for transportation, power generation, and certain services,” the report read.
Meanwhile, the United Nations through its Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale, has said that over 4.3 million Nigerians in the North East region, including; Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are facing severe hunger and malnutrition.
In a statement published on the UN website, Mr. Schmale revealed that the number of children under five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition had doubled in one year to reach 700,000.
He also said that millions of people in the region are facing hunger and children’s lives are on the line amid a protracted conflict and intensifying climate change.
“I have been to Borno and the other two states several times, I have seen mothers fighting for the lives of their malnourished children in nutrition stabilization centres.
“The children he spoke to complained about being hungry for days. Those of us who are parents must imagine what it’s like when you cannot ensure your children have enough to eat,” Schmale said.
According to him, the catastrophic situation is primarily the result of more than a decade of insecurity linked to non-state armed groups, which prevents people from farming and earning an income from the land.
He noted that another harmful factor is climate change and extreme weather impacts, noting that 2022 saw the worst floods in 10 years in Nigeria, which affected more than 4.4 million people across the country, not just the Northeast.
“Soaring food prices, fuel and fertilisers have exacerbated the crisis, and the response remains severely underfunded,” he further noted, adding that out of the $1.3 billion in humanitarian funding needed for the region, only 25 per cent was secured.
