Edo and Cross River states have the lowest inflation rates in the south-south geopolitical zone, the latest inflation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have shown. The NBS released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for December 2022, which showed that the headline inflation rate for December 2022 declined to 21.34% from 21.47% in November 2022.
Among the states in the south-south geopolitical zone, Edo State’s headline inflation rate for December 2022 is 21.42%, and this is the lowest in the south-south region. Cross River has a headline inflation rate of 21.43%, making it the state with the second lowest inflation rate in the sub region.
Delta State has a headline inflation rate of 21.64%; Akwa Ibom, 21.96%; Bayelsa, 22.24%, and Rivers, 22.65% which is the highest within the sub region.
Notwithstanding, all the states in the south-south sub region have inflation rates above the national inflation rate of 21.34%, as this indicates that the cost of living in each of the states in the sub region is higher than the national average.
The NBS data also showed that all the states in the sub region except Cross River, have their food inflation rates higher than the national average. With a food inflation rate of 21.71% in December 2022, Cross River has the lowest food inflation rate within the south-south sub region.
Edo State’s food inflation rate of 24.68% is the second lowest food inflation in the south-south. Others are Delta, 24.69%; Akwa Ibom, 24.80%; Rivers, 25.21%, and Bayelsa, 25.24%.
Meanwhile, in a bid to bring down the high cost of living in Edo State, the governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki has assured residents of better welfare through the execution of projects that will improve the standard of living of residents. These projects inlcude roads, electricity, investment in agriculture, schools, among others.
He said: “In terms of the economy, you can see that the government is able to offer more services to the people. We are able to give people what they need. Yes, we have not been able to complete all the roads but at least, we have been able to do more roads and connect more communities, make routes to make business easier for people.
“We have been able to invest in other infrastructure particularly, fibre technology. We have been able to digitalize governance and improve the quality of services in government. We are simplifying governance. We are bringing the government closer to the people. We are making it more open, more transparent, and more accountable to the people.
“Quite a number of jobs are currently being created from several opportunities in the state’s agricultural sector such as the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP), our cassava to ethanol initiatives, forestry plantations and also in poultry production. These and many more areas will contribute significantly to our Gross Domestic Product.”
