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By Merit Ibe
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), has called for targeted financing of critical sectors like agriculture, food processing, aviation fuels, transport and foreign exchange availability for manufacturing inputs.
The chamber noted that it was obvious
that government’s intervention so far has not impacted the inflationary pressures that keep rising .
The Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, who spoke on the July 2022 inflation, said Nigerians paid more for goods and services than they did exactly a year earlier in July 2021 by a relatively high rate of 19.64%
Almona said Without concrete and quick steps to intervene, the rising tide of the inflation rate may continue into the end of the year.
“A major worry is about the inflation scourge constraining production, causing job losses, and courting an imminent recession. The inflation rate may ease in the near term driven by constrained consumer demand, harvests maturing in quarter three and the resumption of wheat exports from Ukraine to Africa. However, there are fears of falling growth due to constrained production in the past months.
Citing the states’ inflation rates, she said the three lowest rates were recorded in Borno, Jigawa, and Kaduna, while the highest rates were found in Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, and, Kogi States.
She therefore opined that government should offer a targeted intervention for the movement of food items from production areas to high-demand areas to cushion inflationary pressures.
“Specifically, for manufacturers, input prices have spiked. Items such as diesel which most firms depend on for powering their factories have continued to rise in price causing an unbearable cost of production which also translates to higher consumer prices.
” Nigeria’s energy crisis is worsened by the poor supply of electricity and a bumpy road to renewable energy deployment.”
Almona emphasised the need for a mix of fiscal and monetary policies to tackle the core drivers of the inflation scourge in Nigeria.
