Dare Babalola
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has hailed Nigeria’s recent inflation drop as a victory for macroeconomic reforms, but warns that the battle is far from over.
In its latest policy brief, CPPE attributed the decline in inflation to improved macroeconomic coordination, stable exchange rates, and base effects, but noted that structural weaknesses persist, hindering cost-of-living relief for Nigerians.
In October 2025, Nigeria experienced one of its most significant disinflation trends, with the headline inflation rate dropping sharply to 16.02% from 18.02% in September.
According to CPPE CEO Muda Yusuf, the decline in inflation aligns with strengthening policy synergy across monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate management spheres, which has helped moderate imported inflation and boost investor confidence.
Food and core inflation also eased to 13.12% and 18.69%, respectively, driven partly by better FX market liquidity, reduced speculative currency demand, and ongoing reforms.
However, CPPE stressed that inflationary pressures remain elevated in critical household consumption segments, with food, transportation, housing, electricity, water, education, and health collectively accounting for 84% of the inflationary burden in October.
The organisation identified several structural constraints that continue to impede faster price relief, including high logistics and transport costs, weak road infrastructure, expensive diesel, inefficient port operations, and persistent energy supply challenges.
To consolidate the current disinflation trend, CPPE recommends a mix of monetary, fiscal, and structural interventions to stabilise prices sustainably.
CPPE called for strengthened food system resilience through scaled-up irrigation, improved storage and processing infrastructure, and enhanced rural security using community policing and technology-driven surveillance tools.
It also urged priority rehabilitation of federal and state highways, expansion of freight rail services, and streamlining of port clearance processes to reduce logistics bottlenecks.
The organisation advocated investment in power transmission and distribution, promotion of off-grid renewable solutions for SMEs and rural areas, and incentives for energy-efficient production to stabilise energy costs.
It further recommends improved access to affordable finance through targeted concessional credit schemes, expanded credit guarantees, and stronger development finance interventions to support productive sectors.
Addressing pressure in the housing and utilities segment, CPPE encouraged scaling up affordable housing projects through public-private partnerships, improved tariff regulation, and expanded metering programmes to curb estimated billing.
It also called for stronger trade policy coordination to reduce illegal food exports, implement smart tariffs that protect domestic supply without triggering price surges, and enhance border intelligence to tackle smuggling.
