Fidelia Okafor.

Inflation rate in Nigeria in February fell to 17.78 percent from 18.72 percent that it was in January.
According to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, the February rate of 17.78 percent is the lowest in the past 15 months.

NBS attributed the drop in inflation rate to a slower rise in general price levels.

However, a separate food index on the NBS report showed inflation at 18.53 percent from 17.82 percent in January. It attributed the push-up to the rise in food staples such as bread, cereal and meat, while drink prices slowed.

Nigeria’s economy has been grappling with recession, currency crisis and dollar shortages, brought on by low oil prices.

The central bank, under pressure to narrow the gap between the official and black market rates, has devalued the naira for consumers, offering to sell them dollars at about half the premium the black market charges.

It has also increased dollar sales in recent weeks to importers to try to boost the naira. Nigeria has limited manufacturing capacity and depends on imports for local consumption.

Last week, the federal government unveiled sweeping economic recovery plans, including measures to reduce its dependence on oil and to relax foreign exchange restrictions, in a drive to pull Africa’s top oil producer out of its first recession in 25 years.

It forecasts inflation to be at 15.74 percent at year-end and 12.42 percent in 2018, which if achieved, could alleviate widespread frustration with living costs, analysts say.