Key points
- Research economist Benjamin Akinsoto called for increased domestic crude oil supply to local refineries and targeted agricultural interventions to lower inflation.
- Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 15.69 per cent in April, up from 15.38 per cent in March.
- The National Bureau of Statistics noted that month-on-month inflation slowed to 2.13 per cent in April compared to 4.18 per cent in March.
- Experts urged the NNPC Ltd. to prioritize crude allocation to the Dangote Refinery and other local plants to enable domestic sales in naira.
- Industry leaders advised southern state governments to leverage climatic advantages to boost production and counter seasonal food supply deficits.
Main Story
An economist, Mr Benjamin Akinsoto, has urged the Federal Government to increase crude oil supply to local refineries and intervene in the agricultural sector to moderate inflation.
Akinsoto, a research economist at BAA Consult, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday. NAN recalls that the headline inflation rose to 15.69 per cent in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), up from 15.38 per cent in March.
The report indicated that despite the marginal uptick in the yearly headline index, the month-on-month inflation rate decelerated significantly during the April window.
Financial analysts noted that the long-term inflationary trend remains substantially lower than the 26.82 per cent recorded in April 2025.
To lock in this comparative downward trajectory, economic experts are advising the government to remove maritime freight charges for local processing plants and directly subsidize rural farming equipment to lower the baseline cost of production.
The Issues
- Failure to prioritize domestic feedstock delivery forces local refineries to navigate complex international logistics, driving up local retail fuel prices.
- Insufficient state-level agricultural planning and low farm input support leave domestic food markets highly vulnerable to severe seasonal supply deficits.
- Heavy reliance on inter-state food transportation from the north to the south spikes retail commodities pricing due to high haulage costs.
What’s Being Said
- Economist Mr Benjamin Akinsoto stated that “government support for local refining would help reduce inflationary pressures in the economy.”
- He urged the state oil company to “prioritise crude allocation to local refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, to ensure domestic supply and sales in naira.”
- “Also, all freight charges should be removed as an incentive for local refiners to sell at reduced prices, which will have a ripple effect on inflation,” Akinsoto noted during the monetary evaluation.
- Chief Executive Officer of Africafarmers Hub, Mr Africafarmer Mogaji, stated that “while some states, such as Lagos, were making efforts, many others were not doing enough to address food supply challenges.”
- Mogaji added that “improved planning at the state level would help ensure food sufficiency and reduce price pressures,” noting that southern states should leverage their climate to stabilize markets.
What’s Next
- The NNPC Ltd. will face continued policy scrutiny regarding its crude delivery quotas to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and modular processing facilities.
- Regional agricultural ministries in the southern states will review their second-quarter cultivation plans to maximize seasonal outputs.
- The National Bureau of Statistics will compile May consumer price indices to determine if the deceleration in month-on-month inflation sustains into the mid-year.
Bottom Line
With headline inflation ticking up slightly to 15.69 percent in April, economic and agricultural analysts are demanding structural supply-side fixes, urging the federal government to mandate local currency crude sales to domestic refineries while subsidizing rural farmers to ease food price pressures.
