For a long time, manufacturers and other watchers of the economy had doubted the authenticity of the monthly inflation figures dished out by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS). After grudgingly accepting the figures against the backdrop of the monumental increase in the cost of living and collapse of purchasing power of the naira, it seems the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has had enough.
Reacting to the figures for June released last week by the NBS, President of the NACCIMA, Kelvin Oye, reportedly rejected the figure.
The NBS had released its Consumer Price Index, CPI, for June 2024 reporting that headline inflation rate increased by 0.24 percentage points to 34.19 per cent in June from 33.95 percent in May. Without giving details, Oye simply declared that the June “inflation is over 90 percent.”
The controversy surrounding the official inflation rates issued by the NBS has been long running. From the time the economy began its downward spiral under former President Muhammadu Buhari, financial analysts had wondered how NBS figures remained within the threshold of a minimally acceptable range at a time the naira had lost its competitiveness.
Even after President Tinubu’s inaugural speech pronouncement removing oil subsidy killed every shield available for survival for the working class, NBS’ inflation rate seemed incongruous with market trends.
Mr. Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, Director General of NBS, has his work cut out on talking NACCIMA into buying his report on inflation. Not just NACCIMA, but finacial analysts and manufacturers. Are the rates NBS figures sexed up?
