By Adeyemi David
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has said Nigeria’s inflation decline to 15.10 percent in January points to a significant shift toward macroeconomic stabilisation, offering relief for households and renewed confidence for investors.
Founder of the CPPE, Muda Yusuf, made the assertion in a statement issued Monday in Lagos while reacting to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which showed a 0.05 percent drop in inflation for January 2026.
Yusuf noted that the easing inflationary pressure was broad-based across major components of the price index.
Food inflation, he said, fell sharply to 8.89 percent year-on-year in January, compared to 29.63 percent in January 2025 and 10.84 percent in December 2025.
He added that core inflation moderated to 17.72 percent year-on-year from 18.63 percent in December, indicating that price relief was extending beyond food to other segments of consumer spending.
According to him, the sharp decline in food inflation is expected to deliver substantial welfare gains, as food accounts for the largest share of household expenditure in Nigeria.
Lower food prices, he explained, could enhance real purchasing power, particularly among low-income households, ease food-security pressures, and support a gradual rebound in demand for non-food goods and services.
“If sustained, these developments could stimulate retail trade, manufacturing utilisation and service-sector activity, thereby supporting broader economic recovery,” Yusuf said.
He, however, warned that prolonged declines in food prices could threaten farm incomes and rural economic stability.
Persistent weakness in farm-gate prices, he noted, may reduce farmers’ revenues and investment capacity, weaken rural purchasing power, and discourage agricultural production potentially leading to future supply shortages and renewed inflationary pressures.
Yusuf stressed the importance of balancing consumer affordability with producer sustainability to safeguard national food security.
He added that while lower primary food prices could compress margins in crop production, they also strengthen the case for greater investment in storage, processing, cold-chain infrastructure, and export-oriented agribusiness.
The economist recommended targeted interventions to protect farm incomes while sustaining food affordability, including productivity support, minimum guaranteed prices for selected crops, strategic reserves, and expanded agro-processing capacity to absorb surplus output.
Highlighting regional disparities, Yusuf observed that headline inflation was highest in Benue State, Kogi State, and the Federal Capital Territory, while the lowest rates were recorded in Ebonyi State, Katsina State, and Imo State.
“The pattern underscores the importance of transport costs, security conditions, and supply-chain efficiency in price formation, hence the need for government to address structural constraints to achieve durable nationwide price stability,” he said.
Yusuf maintained that consolidating disinflation while protecting agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods would be critical to transforming the current price moderation into long-term stability and inclusive economic growth.
