Nigeria is heading toward the “light at the end of the tunnel” as the country grinds through the second year of a cost-of-living crisis, President Bola Tinubu said Friday.
The country has been beset with soaring inflation after Tinubu, elected in 2023, scrapped a costly fuel subsidy and liberalised the exchange rate for the naira currency.
Though the government and international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund have said the reforms were much needed, ordinary Nigerians are going through the worst economic crisis in a generation.
“The past year tested our resolve, but through the economic discipline and strategic reform, we achieved what many deemed impossible,” Tinubu said while signing this year’s 55.99 ₦ trillion-naira ($ 37 billion) budget.
The country’s central and northern regions have suffered a jihadist insurgency for 15 years. Gunmen with ties to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have also gained a foothold.
The government hopes for a better-performing economy in 2025, with reduced petroleum imports as domestic refineries increase production and a bumper harvest that could reduce reliance on food imports.
Nigeria recently revised its inflation data, knocking down official year-on-year inflation in January to 24.48 percent from December’s 34.80 percent figure.
But many people continue to feel the squeeze, especially as rents soar in the economic capital, Lagos.
Renters and real estate agents have recorded rent spikes of between 100 and 200 percent in some parts of the mega-city.
Those who saw smaller hikes were still looking at increases of 30 percent in some cases — a significant sum as many people’s salaries have not kept up with inflation.
AFP
