The Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr Simon Harry, has said that the current fuel scarcity across the country is likely to affect inflation rate.
He said this while speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday held to announce the January consumer price index (CPI), according to the News Agency of Nigeria
Mr Harry said there is a tendency that transporters will take advantage of the situation to increase transportation costs.
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What the Statistician-General is saying about fuel scarcity
He said, “Whether we like it or not, transporters will be taking advantage of the situation, thereby, increasing the costs of transportation.
“As you are bringing your commodities to the market for sale, you will be thinking of adding some amount to the selling costs so that you will be able to recover the costs of transportation.
“So that gives us a negative signal that is capable of affecting not just inflation rate, but also other macro-economic variables such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and even the unemployment rate.
“I can however, assure you that certainly, it is not the best for the economy and if we must maintain a stable macroeconomic environment, this kind of crisis certainly is not the best for it is not needed.”
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The SG said the February inflation rate could not be ascertained due to the current fuel crisis as the numbers are still being collected.
He said the fuel crisis would create an artificial shock in the economy which is capable of shaking the economy and private businesses will also be affected as the economy is strongly driven by the private sector.
