The World Bank has advised the Federal Government to urgently cut import tariffs and remove a ban on some import items to reduce the rise in prices of goods and services.
According to the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, the measures, if applied, will reduce poverty rate.
Verghis, who spoke on a cable television monitored in Lagos, noted that high inflation erodes the purchasing power of millions of Nigerians.
In its Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report for October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) put the inflation rate at 16.05 per cent down from the September figure of 18.02.
According to the NBS, it was the seventh consecutive month of decline and the lowest in three years. The Report was released on November 17.
But Verghis said the bank’s projections show poverty levels in Nigeria may continue to increase through 2025 and possibly into 2026 if inflation is not decisively addressed.
“The reason we are projecting poverty to continue to rise in 2025, and possibly into 2026, is because inflation remains high enough that it is undermining household incomes, especially for the poor, because food inflation remains at around 20 per cent,” the World Bank director said.
Advising Nigeria to sustain ongoing economic reforms, Verghis said that India and China and other countries achieved stability through decades of consistent reform.
