₦airaland Forum

Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company, has questioned the credibility of the latest consumer price index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The bureau had said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate slightly dropped to 23.71 percent in April 2025 – down from 24.23 percent in March.


Commenting on the figure, Rewane said the NBS result shows that some food-producing states are experiencing high inflation rates, while major consuming states have significantly lower rates.


The managing director said the data might be as flawed as the 2025 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam scandal, where results were compromised due to technical errors.


“Inflation was highest in three states; Benue state at 51 percent, Ekiti state at 34 percent, and Kebbi state at 33 percent; these are the food-producing states,” he said.

“While they were lowest in consuming states. Ebonyi state has 7.19 percent, Adamawa state had 9.52 percent, and Ogun state had 9.91 percent.


“How come the states that are producing the food, and the food is stranded there at higher prices, while the states that are consuming the foodstuff are having low rates? What is happening here?


“Are those numbers credible? And if they are not, then what are we seeing here? Are we seeing some distortion in the methodology? Are we seeing a JAMB-type situation here?


“It is almost inconceivable that where you have the food, the prices are high, and where you are consuming the food, the prices are low. The difference between Benue state and Ogun state, for example, is almost 43 percent difference in inflation. What has happened?”

‘GOVERNMENT POLICIES DON’T STABILISE FOOD PRICES’
Rewane also questioned the sustainability of recent declines in food prices, adding that the cost of staples like rice remains volatile.

“Food prices come down, yes, we have seen some movement in some food prices, but are they sustainable? We’ve seen the price of rice and it’s gone all over the place,” he said.


“Rice dropped, one, because of imports. Two, because of the rumour that there’s poison rice, so people are not buying the rice. But we have not seen a massive shift to the substitutes for rice yet, so that is something that needs to be looked at.

“When you look at the food basket, you find that the price of tomatoes went up by 107 percent because of tomato ebola, while the price of dairy actually stayed a little bit stable, so those are the things that we’re looking at.

“When you look at inflation, you have to begin to look at what causes inflation to decline. Is it a weak exchange rate that leads to inflation, or is it inflation that leads to a weak exchange rate?”

The managing director said government “policies do not stabilise food prices”, stressing that attempts to directly produce or sell food are misguided.


“It’s not the government, producing food or government selling food, that’s the wrong way to go about it,” the economist said.

“The markets determine exactly what the efficient price of a commodity is, there’s an equilibrium price.


“The man who is selling rice, imports the rice and sells it in the market. The market, the consumer, based on his salary and his demand, will buy the rice.

“I don’t think we should be seeing the interventions that are going to bring down prices, most, you have an output gap. That output gap will be filled by people who are producing in the market.



“Inflation has two factors to it. One is the fact that there’s production shortfall because of insecurity, because of herders and all sorts of things, and the cost of logistics, petrol, diesel, and all the other things. Then there’s a demand side where people have excess liquidity and they are buying more.”

Rewane said the central bank controls demand by tightening liquidity through interest rates, but noted that monetary policy alone cannot boost output and production.


He added that output and production can only increase through improved power supply, efficient logistics, reduced business costs, and higher farm yields — “ultimately determining the equilibrium price”.


https://www.thecable.ng/a-jamb-type-situation-rewane-questions-credibility-of-nbs-inflation-data/

I'm sorry to say this but Rewane is not asking a responsible questions. At sango in Ogun state, a 50kg of rice cost less than 58k

Nigeria doesn't have reliable data because the government isn't ready to invest in it.

How is Ebonyi State a consuming State? Riwani should travel out of his comfort zone and see. Imagine comparing Ekiti State to Ebonyi State in food production.

Ikaeniyan0:
I'm sorry to say this but Rewane is not asking a responsible questions. At sango in Ogun state, a 50kg of rice cost less than 58k

Nigerians really have a comprehension problem

Lol
They will attack this man now

Ikaeniyan0:
I'm sorry to say this but Rewane is not asking a responsible questions. At sango in Ogun state, a 50kg of rice cost less than 58k

You mean smuggled rice? And you are among those who will claim to have gone to school
Is Sango Ota rice all over the country? Or Nigeria is all about Sango Ota? How many of you shouting Badagry and Sango Ota can really go there to buy the rice self

Kukutente23:
Lol
They will attack this man now



You mean smuggled rice? And you are among those who will claim to have gone to school
Is Sango Ota rice all over the country? Or Nigeria is all about Sango Ota? How many of you shouting Badagry and Sango Ota can really go there to buy the rice self

It does not matter where it is produced, rice is cheaper in Ogun state.

KillahPriest:
Nigerians really have a comprehension problem

Yes

He added that output and production can only increase through improved power supply, efficient logistics, reduced business costs, and higher farm yields — “ultimately determining the equilibrium price”.

These are the areas any serious government would have paid major attention to in its bid for concrete development.

Ikaeniyan0:
It does not matter where it is produced, rice is cheaper in Ogun state.

Have you bought from Ogun State before or na dem say dem say

Kukutente23:
Lol
They will attack this man now



You mean smuggled rice? And you are among those who will claim to have gone to school
Is Sango Ota rice all over the country? Or Nigeria is all about Sango Ota? How many of you shouting Badagry and Sango Ota can really go there to buy the rice self

Read the body of the post. Mr. Rewane himself agreed that rice prices have dropped. His argument is just that it might not be sustainable on the long run because government is granting import waivers and etc.

He believes Nigeria should be producing the food instead.

Whether in Katangua or Sapele, rice prices have reduced compared to same period last year. Anyone denying this is arguing against self evident truth.

Kukutente23:
Have you bought from Ogun State before or na dem say dem say

Your question is not related with the thread

Ikaeniyan0:
Your question is not related with the thread

What is the relationship between price of a bag of rice in Sango Ota and this thread?

They have scant regard for statistics, remember? So expect them to massage figures every now and again to fit into the narrative they want to sell!

Agbegbaorogboye:
What is the relationship between price of a bag of rice in Sango Ota and this thread?

The people with functioning brains already understand

Ikaeniyan0:
The people with functioning brains already understand

That's your imagination deceiving you

Ebonyi a consuming state? How?

NBS that has compromised since. Just doing the dictates of the federal government.