PRESIDENCY ASSURES NIGERIANS THAT INFLATION WILL SOON HIT SINGLE DIGIT

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The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, has asserted that Nigerians can anticipate a decrease in inflation to a single digit in the near future, which he believes will facilitate an improvement in living conditions for the populace.

Fasua provided this assurance during his appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday.

He elaborated that food costs are already beginning to decline as inflation subsides.

His statement followed the National Bureau of Statistics’ announcement that headline inflation decreased to 20.12% in August 2025, down from 21.88% in July.

According to the NBS, the inflation rate for August 2025 reflected a 1.76% reduction compared to July.

On a month-to-month basis, headline inflation was recorded at 0.74% in August, while food inflation stood at 1.65%.

Year-on-year, inflation was 12.03% lower than the 32.15% documented in August 2024.

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The statistics agency clarified that while inflation persists, the rate of price increases is decelerating compared to previous months.

In response to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s assertion that Nigerians were “dying from hunger daily,” Fasua remarked, “Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, merely made a political statement which is expected at this time, because he’s trying to see how he can wangle himself back into the presidency, and I don’t comment on political things.

“He doesn’t have to commend the current government for the achievement, but the rest of us just need to stick with the black and white.”

Fasua conceded that 20.12% remains considerable but emphasized that the figures now illustrate a long-overdue recalibration.

He explained, “A 20.12 inflation is still large in many quarters because what it says is that prices are still increasing in some quarters, but not as they used to be. It is rebasing. The rebasing came in about six years after it ought to have been done. Our concern should be that our statistics and data should be much more on point and frequent.

“So the rebasing was done, and it gave us the true picture of where we are. So, for every emotional reason, somebody believes that we should still be around 30 per cent. Well, that is their own cup of tea. The most important thing is that the rebasing was done several months back, and what we are seeing is then consistent drop in inflation. ”

He further noted that inflation does not continuously climb and cited examples from other nations.

“Nigeria’s inflation will get to a single digit as well; it’s a matter of time.

“Pakistan’s economy experienced inflation of up to 40 per cent some two years ago. Today, they are battling deflation, which is even a bigger issue because when there is no incentive for people to produce more goods themselves, everything goes down again.

“Nigeria’s inflation will certainly go to a single digit. Besides, that’s not the only positive thing we can see.”

Fasua also indicated that the naira has appreciated in recent days and that oil prices are recovering in the international market.

He elaborated, “Yesterday, the naira traded at some point, N1,497/\$1. For the first time in like eight months, we have clocked the N1,400 region, and that’s remarkable.

“And if we look at why the inflation is reducing, for anybody that cares to know, of course, crude is one of our key drivers of inflation. The exchange rate is also another key driver. The exchange rate has stabilised, and it’s actually via market forces.”

He observed that food prices have also become more consistent this year.

“A very respected source I respect in the agriculture sector, told me that for the first time in 26 years, this year, we did not have the usual recourse around tomato prices soaring and shortages. Some farmers are even complaining that the government is now crashing food prices to make it affect their businesses negatively.

“Nigerians, including these farmers, are enjoying the drop in food prices because they are much more stable.”