The Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Chinyere Almona, has expressed dismay over the increase in Nigeria's headline inflation rate to 15.69 percent in April 2026 from 15.38 percent in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). She lamented that the rising inflation has continued to weigh heavily on manufacturers, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), traders, and consumers through rapidly rising costs of food, transportation, energy, and logistics.
Inflation Trends and Sectoral Impact
The higher rural inflation rate of 16.36 percent highlights ongoing supply chain disruptions, insecurity in food-producing areas, and weak distribution infrastructure. Even as inflation declined significantly from 26.82 percent in April 2025, Dr. Almona noted that businesses and households had yet to experience meaningful relief, as purchasing power remains weak and operating costs remain elevated.
CPPE Calls for Supply-Side Interventions
For the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, although inflationary pressures remain elevated, the pace of acceleration was relatively moderate. He urged the Federal Government to prioritize supply-side interventions to address the root causes of inflation.
BPP Unveils New Contract Variation Guidelines
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has unveiled a new regulatory framework aimed at tightening oversight of contract variations and preventing arbitrary increases in public project costs across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Under the new policy approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), all requests for contract sum revisions, fluctuation claims, and scope modifications must now be reviewed and certified by the BPP before they can proceed to the relevant approving authority.
Key Features of the New Guidelines
The guidelines, which take immediate effect, make the use of approved final project designs mandatory for all federal procurements in a bid to reduce avoidable contract variations linked to faulty or incomplete designs. According to a statement issued by the Head of Press and Public Relations of the BPP, Zira Nagga, the new framework supersedes the 2013 policy that required presidential approval for variations above 15 percent of the original contract sum or exceeding N1 billion. The revised policy aligns approval procedures with the new Service-Wide Prior Review and Monetary Thresholds approved by the Federal Government in May 2025.
Under the guidelines, no variation order, fluctuation claim, or scope modification will be processed without a BPP Certificate of No Objection. Director-General of the BPP, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, said the measures were necessary to prevent abuse of the procurement system through inflated project costs and unjustified scope adjustments. 'Variations must not become a backdoor for cost inflation and scope creep. These guidelines ensure that every adjustment to a public contract is necessary, justified, and delivers value to Nigerians,' he said.
LCCI Calls for Macroeconomic Reforms
Dr. Almona urged the Federal Government to consolidate macroeconomic reforms by stabilizing foreign exchange, addressing energy and logistics costs, improving food supply systems, and strengthening support for domestic production and private sector investment. She also urged stronger coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities to sustain the moderation in inflation and restore investor and consumer confidence in the economy.
'The LCCI reiterates that durable price stability can only be achieved through productivity-driven reforms, improved infrastructure, enhanced food security, and a more business-friendly operating environment. We must begin to develop long-term strategies to reduce the shocks on the economy from global crises, whether in energy supply chain disruptions or trade wars. We have an opportunity to reset our oil and gas industry as the next supply hub of gas to Europe and a net oil exporter to African countries,' she said.
