Nigeria’s inflation rate bucked the trend in February to fall to 17.78 per cent, its lowest level in 15 months, driven by a slower rise in general price levels, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
Inflation had risen to 18.72 per cent in January, its 12th monthly rise and its highest level in more than 11 years, as Africa’s biggest economy grapples with an economic recession, a currency crisis and dollar shortages, brought on by low oil prices, its mainstay.
The central bank, under pressure to narrow the gap between the official and black market rates, has devalued the naira for consumers, offering to sell them dollars at about half the premium the black market charges.
It has also increased dollar sales in recent weeks to importers to try to boost the naira.
Nigeria has limited manufacturing capacity and depends on imports for local consumption.
A separate food index showed inflation at 18.53 per cent from 17.82 per cent in January, the statistics office said in a report, pushed up by the rise in food staples such as bread, cereal and meat, while drink prices slowed.
Last week the government unveiled sweeping economic recovery plans, including measures to reduce its dependence on oil and to relax foreign exchange restrictions, in a drive to pull Africa’s top oil producer out of its first recession in 25 years.
It forecasts inflation to be at 15.74 per cent at year-end and 12.42 percent in 2018, which if achieved, could alleviate widespread frustration with living costs, analysts say.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
