This was stated by the Washington-based bank in the most recent edition of its ‘Nigeria Development Update’ report 2021.

It said, “Double-digit inflation rates are depressing economic activity and exacerbating poverty. Rising food prices are eroding household purchasing power, and we estimate that during 2020 and 2021, the ‘inflation shock’ alone pushed about eight million more Nigerians below the poverty line.

“We have revised our inflation forecast upwards from our June projection because (i) the inflation rate is declining more slowly than initially expected, and (ii) during 2021 the government did not take concerted action to curb inflation.”

The World Bank cautioned that if no significant action is taken, the average inflation rate will not achieve the CBN’s single-digit objective by the end of 2022.

It said, “Without decisive action, the average inflation rate for 2021 will exceed that for 2020 and will be unlikely to approach the CBN’s target range of 6–9 percent by end-2022.

“The inflation rate has not fallen to 9 percent since 2014, but in a hypothetical scenario where the inflation rate would have been close to the CBN’s goal of 9 percent in 2020 and 2021, the consumption level of the average Nigerian would have been at least 15 percent higher today.”

With the full implementation of the CBN’s recent policies aimed at boosting various sectors of the economy, the CBN recently projected that the country’s inflation rate will fall to single digits in 2022.

Global Finance, a US-based publication, concurred with the World Bank, stating the CBN had failed to control increasing inflation and keep the naira from falling against the dollar.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria may have one of the highest inflation rates in the world in 2022, with rising prices reducing the wellbeing of Nigerian households.

Nigeria is also expected to have the seventh-highest inflation rate among Sub-Saharan African countries in 2022, according to the report.