Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) endorsed a 90-day cost-of-living plan as September data put annual food inflation near 20%, with the announcement leaving its start date and funding unspecified.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported headline inflation at 14.63% year over year in September, down from 15.39% in August. Annual food inflation was 19.59%, slightly above August’s 19.57%, while food prices fell 1.55% month over month. The annual and monthly figures show different movements: food inflation remained near 20% even as prices declined from the previous month.
At the council’s 161st virtual meeting on Oct. 22, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele outlined five aims: lower food costs, harmonized taxes, finish high-impact projects, clear investment obstacles and provide regulated household aid.
The council also approved a national dashboard to track public projects and the use of proceeds from fuel subsidy removal. It called for federal and state governments to develop joint financing for compressed natural gas and electric-vehicle deployment. Officials are to work with transport operators so savings reach commuters through lower fares, and a committee is to coordinate the proposed financing arrangement.
Households and commuters are intended beneficiaries, while federal and state governments are expected to share responsibility for transport financing. The announcement gives no budget or division of costs. Oyedele also identified single-digit headline inflation and interest rates by 2027 as policy objectives without outlining a detailed path.
BusinessDay reported Oct. 25 that a market trader in Ajah, Lagos, and a father of four described pressure on household budgets. The interviews provide individual accounts, not a household spending survey.
The government announcement says NEC will constitute a committee to coordinate the transport financing proposal, but gives no date for its formation or the dashboard’s launch.
