The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has projected a single-digit inflation rate for Nigeria at 9.84 per cent in its wider optimistic forecast for this year.
In its 12th National Economic Outlook and Its Implication for Businesses in 2026, the bankers group saw a better metric compared to those of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The CBN and the IMF respectively see Nigeria’s economy growing at 4.49 per cent and 4.2 per cent, and the inflation rate dropping to 14.45 per cent and 18 per cent while the foreign reserves rise to N45.78 billion and $43 billion respectively this year.
However, in the outlook presentation by Professor Biodun Adedipe, the CIBN projects a 4.51 per cent GDP growth rate and a 9.84 per cent inflation rate. It forecast the exchange rate stabilizing at N1,420/$1 and the foreign reserves hitting $50.8 billion.
Business Post reports that Professor Adedipe, corporate finance scholar and founder of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd, has been presenting the national economic outlook since 12 years ago, with the firm claiming to initiate the trend in Nigeria, before even the CBN and others caught on with it.
Last week, after a revised approach Nigeria’s headline inflation eased to 15.5 per cent year-on-year in December 2025, down from 17.33 per cent in the preceding month. On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 0.54 per cent in December, compared to 1.22 per cent in November.
Ahead of the data release, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had cautioned that the rebasing exercise could result in a temporary “artificial spike” in the December inflation figures.
Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, the statistician-general of the federation, said the adjustment in the reference period, known as the base year, would affect the headline number.
“This artificial spike is a result of the base effect of December 2024, which is equated to 100, following the rebasing exercise,” Mr Adeniran said.