ABUJA, Oct. 9 (AGCNewsNet) – The World Bank has said Nigeria’s target of achieving single-digit inflation in the short term is unrealistic, warning that the country remains among a handful of African nations still grappling with high consumer price inflation.

In its latest Africa’s Pulse report, the Bank projected that Nigeria, alongside Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Sudan, Zambia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zimbabwe, would continue to experience double-digit inflation through 2025.

“While 37 of Africa’s 47 economies are projected to maintain single-digit inflation by 2026, Nigeria remains an outlier due to persistent structural challenges,” the Bank said, citing factors such as currency depreciation, high food and energy prices, and supply bottlenecks that continue to fuel price instability.

The projection contrasts with the Federal Government’s optimism that its recent fiscal and monetary reforms — including foreign exchange unification, the removal of fuel subsidies, and the Central Bank’s tightening measures — would quickly bring inflation down to single digits.

It will be recalled that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria had said at the Lagos Business School’s Annual Lecture Series in Lagos that achieving a single-digit inflation rate remained the Bank’s medium-term goal.

However, the World Bank noted that despite a broad wave of disinflation sweeping across Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria remains one of the few countries still trapped in double-digit inflation, even as price growth across the region slows to historic lows.

According to the Bank, the persistence of high inflation in Nigeria poses a significant challenge to economic stability and erodes purchasing power, with potential implications for poverty reduction and growth.

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