Business group urges caution despite price slowdown, warns food costs and global tensions could reverse gains….
Nigeria’s modest decline in inflation is offering a glimmer of relief to businesses and households, but economic risks remain strong enough to threaten the fragile progress, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has cautioned.
Reacting to the latest Consumer Price Index report, the Chamber noted that headline inflation edged down to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, slightly lower than the 15.10 per cent recorded in January. More notably, inflation has fallen sharply compared to 26.27 per cent in February 2025, signalling a gradual easing of price pressures across the economy.
For many businesses and consumers who have endured months of rising costs and shrinking purchasing power, the latest figures bring a sense of cautious optimism.
Director General of LCCI, Chinyere Almona, said the marginal slowdown provides some breathing space for the private sector, which has been grappling with high production costs and weak consumer demand.
According to her, persistent inflation has weighed heavily on economic activity, eroding household incomes and forcing businesses to navigate an increasingly difficult operating environment.
Despite the improvement, the Chamber warned that underlying inflationary pressures remain far from resolved. Month-on-month inflation climbed to 2.01 per cent in February after a contraction in January, a sign that price increases are still active beneath the surface.
Food inflation, in particular, continues to be the biggest driver. LCCI pointed to deep-rooted challenges in Nigeria’s food supply chain, including poor logistics, high transportation costs, and production constraints, all of which continue to push prices upward.
Beyond domestic factors, the Chamber flagged several external risks that could quickly undo recent gains. Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East especially those linked to Iran could trigger fresh volatility in global energy markets, with ripple effects on fuel prices, transportation, and overall business costs in Nigeria.
To mitigate such shocks, LCCI urged the government to accelerate efforts to strengthen local refining capacity and ensure adequate crude supply to domestic refineries, reducing reliance on imported petroleum products.
The group also raised concerns about potential instability in the foreign exchange market. Disruptions in global supply chains, it warned, could place renewed pressure on the naira, increasing the cost of imported goods such as raw materials, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and food.
While the latest inflation figures suggest the worst may be easing, LCCI’s message is clear: the path to sustained price stability remains uncertain, and without targeted policy action, the current relief could prove short-lived.
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