Abuja, Aug. 16, 2024 – Concerted efforts and economic measures being undertaken by the President Bola Tinubu’s government to fight inflation distorting and eroding the income and purchasing power of Nigerians are taking effects as inflationary figures begin to capitulate, the Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has enthused.
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG), which gave the observation said gleefully, that the decline in Nigeria inflation figure for July 2024 is the clearest indicator of the efficacy of President Tinubu’s economic policies.
The Chairman of the group, Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, noted in a statement that a decline of 0.79 per cent point in the month of July is a positive development after the inflationary figures had hit an all-time – 28-year – high in June.
The statement said: The latest inflation figure of 33.40% for July 2024 which shows a decline from the 34.19% recorded the previous month is noteworthy especially as it is the first drop in inflation rate since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.
“It also represents the first decline since December 2022 when the rate dropped to 21.34% from 21.47% recorded in November 2022 before the 2023 surge.
“The 0.79% difference between the June and July numbers may look marginal, but for us, it is a sign of good things to come after a persistent month-on-month spike stretching back to 2020 when Nigerians began to feel the effects of the 2019 partial closure of the borders to food imports.
“And going through the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), it is clear that all the measures of inflation showed a decline so this is a further indication of the success of the Tinubu administration’s ongoing efforts to stem the tide of inflation in the country.
“We were never in doubt that the headline inflation figure would drop even as it was going up month-on-month since the administration came on board because we were convinced by the efficacy of the President’s policies.
“Coupled with that are the various analyses by credible local and financial advisory groups which had predicted a slow-down in the inflation rate on the basis of the Tinubu initiatives as well as figures recorded in recent months.
“For instance, the June 2024 inflation rate of 34.19% was 0.24 percentage points higher than the 33.95% recorded in May 2024, which was a 0.26% higher than the April 2024 figure of 33.69% according to NBS data.
“But all of these would be better understood if one considers that the month-on-month increase in inflation rate within the same period in 2023 (between June and July) was 1.29 percentage points before the pace began to decline towards the end of that year into 2024.
“In addition to this is that the trend in food inflation which has dropped by more than fifty percent on a month-on-month basis from 4.24% in February 2024 to 2.55% in June 2024 and 2.47 % in July 2024. This is the lowest level since August 2023.
“It is against this backdrop that we make bold to say that the 150-day, import duty-free window for essential food items which is set to kick off fully this month will lead to a further ease in inflation even as Nigerians await the commencement of petroleum refining at the Port Harcourt and Dangote Refineries any moment from now.
“This will invariably bring down the cost of food items and even that of transportation which, jointly, are the main drivers of inflation in Nigeria.
“And like Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said after the recent Council of State meeting, “we are convinced that the President is not comfortable with the country’s inflation rate and will continue to mobilize the human and other resources at his disposal to bring succour to Nigerians”.
The TMSG urged Nigerians to continue to trust the in the capacity of the President Tinubu administration to take the country’s economy to an enviable height. (GBN)
