According to the Consumer Price Index report for August 2023, released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation has surged to 25.80%, marking a significant increase of 1.72% points compared to the previous month’s figure of 24.08%.

The report attributes this substantial rise to the removal of petrol subsidies and the devaluation of the official exchange rate, which have exerted upward pressure on consumer prices.

Month-on-month inflation also witnessed an uptick, rising from 2.89% in the prior month to 3.18% in the review month.

In terms of contributions to year-on-year inflation, food and non-alcoholic beverages topped the list at 13.36%, followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel at 4.32%, and clothing and footwear at 1.97%.

On a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate for August 2023 stood at 27.69%, representing a notable increase of 6.73% points compared to August 2022, when it was at 20.95%.

Meanwhile, the rural inflation rate was recorded at 24.10%, marking a 3.98% points increase compared to the same period in the previous year, which stood at 20.12%.

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Furthermore, food inflation experienced a significant surge in August 2023, reaching 29.34%. This marked a 2.35% point increase from the previous month’s figure of 26.98% and a substantial 6.22% points higher than the corresponding period in 2022, which stood at 23.12%.

On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate for August 2023 reached 3.87%, marking a 0.41% point increase compared to the rate recorded in July 2023, which was at 3.45%.

The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending in August 2023 was calculated at 25.01%, indicating a significant increase of 5.99% points compared to the average annual rate recorded in August 2022, which was at 19.02%.

Regarding regional variations, Kogi, Lagos, and Rivers recorded the highest all-items inflation rate on a year-on-year basis, at 31.50%, 29.17%, and 29.06%, respectively.

Conversely, Sokoto, Borno, and Nasarawa recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis, with figures of 20.91%, 21.77%, and 22.25%.

Similarly, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (38.84%), Lagos (36.04%), and Kwara (35.33%), while Sokoto (20.09%), Nasarawa (24.35%), and Jigawa (24.53%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation during the same period.