SPOTTED: NBS quietly deletes inflation report, re-uploads with historical data missing

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently reported that Nigeria’s inflation rate fell to 23.18 percent in February, down from 24.48 percent in January.

Despite this, many analysts questioned the figure and the new methodology.

A few days after the report’s release, it was quietly taken down from the NBS website, raising concerns about data transparency and accuracy.

Checks by TheCable Index on Monday showed that the report had been reuploaded but with notable changes.

MISSING HISTORICAL DATA

In the initial version, following NBS tradition, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report contained historical data dating back to 1995.

However, the reuploaded version omits this information, leaving only January and February 2025 CPI data.

This is not the first time NBS has quietly deleted reports from its website.

On January 15, 2025, the NBS website came back online after being inaccessible for 29 days due to a cyberattack.

The website was reportedly hacked 24 hours after the bureau published the crime experience and security perception survey.

When the site was restored, TheCable Index found that the controversial crime and security perception report was no longer available.

TheCable Index has contacted NBS for  comments.

QUESTIONS OVER INFLATION CALCULATIONS

Agora Policy, an Abuja-based think tank, has raised concerns over unusual trends in the NBS inflation computation.

In its report, “Questions and Insights from the February 2025 Inflation Data”, the think tank questioned the sharp decline in the month-on-month inflation rate for December 2024, which stood at -12.3 percent — a figure it described as unprecedented.

“According to the newly rebased CPI series, inflation slowed to 23.18% in February 2025 from 24.8% in January 2025, with a moderate month-on-month change of 2.04%,” the report reads.

“However, using the rebased computations, NBS reported 15.4% as the headline inflation rate for December 2024 and an unprecedented -12.3% as the month-on-month rate for December 2024.”

Agora Policy noted that such volatility is rare in Nigeria’s inflation data, as month-on-month changes are usually gradual.

“From February 2024 to November 2024, the monthly change in inflation remained within a relatively stable range of 2.14% to 3.12%,” the report reads.

“Likewise, data from February 2025 saw the month-on-month change return to 2.04%, in line with the previous trend before the December outlier. The lowest month-on-month change recorded in the last 26 years was -3.51%, which occurred in August 1999.”

The think tank added that the steep drop in December 2024, followed by a sharp inflation rebound to 24.5 percent in January 2025 (with a 10.7 percent month-on-month increase), raises questions about the accuracy of the data and the factors driving these dramatic shifts.

It projected inflation could be back to 31-37 percent in December 2025 because of the low base established for December 2024.