Dare Babalola
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has expressed concern over Nigeria’s inflation outlook for April 2026, warning that the country’s disinflation process remains fragile amid growing domestic and global economic pressures.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, noted that headline inflation rose slightly from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April, indicating that inflationary pressures remained elevated despite a relatively moderate pace of increase.
According to him, there were signs of easing inflationary momentum on a month-on-month basis across several key indicators. He stated that headline month-on-month inflation declined by 2.05 per cent, while food inflation moderated by 0.54 per cent. Core inflation also dropped by 3.0 per cent, urban inflation slowed by 1.3 per cent, and rural inflation recorded a sharper decline of 3.9 per cent.
Yusuf, however, stressed that inflationary conditions remained severe for households and businesses, particularly due to rising costs of essential goods and services.
He said, “Food inflation stood at 16.06 per cent, while core inflation remained elevated at 15.86 per cent. The dominant inflation drivers continue to be food, transportation, energy products, healthcare and restaurant services, which together accounted for about 87 per cent of the inflation pressure recorded in April.”
He added that these categories represented essential expenditure items that consumed the bulk of household income, especially among low-income Nigerians.
The CPPE boss also linked growing geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States to rising inflationary risks, noting that the conflict had heightened volatility in the global oil market and pushed up crude oil prices.
According to him, the increase in global energy prices has translated into higher domestic costs for petrol, diesel and cooking gas, thereby raising transportation, logistics and production expenses across various sectors of the economy.
He said the development had further intensified pressure on food prices and overall consumer inflation.
Yusuf maintained that Nigeria’s inflation problem was largely structural and supply-driven, arguing that monetary tightening alone would not sufficiently address the challenge.
“Monetary tightening alone cannot resolve inflation driven by energy costs, logistics inefficiencies, food supply disruptions and weak infrastructure conditions,” he said.
He warned that further tightening of monetary policy could worsen financing conditions for businesses, weaken investment activities and constrain productivity growth.
The economist urged governments at both federal and state levels to focus more on supply-side interventions aimed at reducing the cost of production and improving productivity.
He called for stronger efforts to reduce energy costs, improve transportation infrastructure, strengthen food supply systems, facilitate trade and support domestic production.
Yusuf also advised businesses to adopt survival strategies in response to the harsh operating environment.
According to him, firms should prioritise energy efficiency, adopt dynamic pricing models, segment consumers effectively and introduce affordability-driven product strategies such as smaller pack sizes as purchasing power weakens.
He concluded that although the April inflation data suggested a moderation in inflationary momentum, the gains remained vulnerable to external shocks, particularly developments in the global energy market.
“Sustained inflation moderation will depend largely on structural reforms and targeted interventions to reduce the cost of food, transportation and energy within the economy,” he added.
