The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has described the recent slight deceleration in the nation’s headline inflation rate, recorded in February, as offering cautious optimism for businesses and households, as high inflation has significantly eroded purchasing power, increased production costs, and weakened consumer demand across several sectors.

The chamber stated this in a statement by its Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, on Tuesday, in its reaction to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) inflation figures for February 2026.

The latest Consumer Price Index, published by NBS, has shown a deceleration in Nigeria’s headline inflation rate to 15.06% in February 2026 from 15.10% in January 2026.

Describing the deceleration as a positive development, the chamber noted that the marginal decline, alongside the significant drop from 26.27% recorded in February 2025, reflects a gradual easing of inflationary pressures in the economy.

It, however, warned that several emerging domestic and global risks could reverse the deceleration gains, recorded in recent months.

According to the chamber, “Rising geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran conflict in the Middle East could trigger volatility in global energy markets, potentially increasing fuel, transportation, and logistics costs.”

It expressed the belief that the country has the opportunity of partially insulating itself from volatile oil prices in international markets by expanding local refining capacity and boosting crude supply to local refineries to meet local needs.

The chamber warned that with the risk of exchange-rate volatility amid disruptions to global supply chains, renewed pressure in the foreign exchange market may increase the cost of imported raw materials, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and food items, thereby pushing up production and consumer prices.

The organisation also identified insecurity in food-producing regions, climate-related disruptions, and high transportation costs as some of those factors that will continue to threaten food supply and price stability.

The Chamber, therefore, called for deliberate policy actions to sustain the current inflation moderation, while urging the government to prioritize exchange-rate stability by improving foreign exchange liquidity and boosting non-oil export earnings.

It also called for accelerated reforms in the power and energy sectors, since they remain critical to lowering production costs for businesses, adding that reliable electricity supply and improved energy infrastructure would significantly reduce cost pressures across manufacturing, trade, and services.

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