Inflation blamed on spending during polls

Bank workers have attributed Nigeria’s rising inflation to excessive spending during the last general elections.

President of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Ade Martins Odigie, says the effect of the elections could be seen in the fact that inflation rose from 11.1 percent in February to 12.8 percent in March, just before the elections.

Odigie also explains that the average consumer price level increased to 8.5 percent in urban areas and 16.4 percent in the rural areas around the election period in April.

The union leader says these developments were because of too much spending by politicians during the campaigns and elections.

Odigie adds that although the election was over, the prices of some food items and beverages remain high.

According to him, another evidence of the persistent inflation is the current exchange rate of the naira – the Nigerian currency - to the dollar. The naira is exchanging at 157 to one dollar compared to between N150 and N153 to a dollar prior to the elections.

Odigie says the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should put measures in place to tackle the high inflationary rate