"More Scrutiny Needed", Nigerians React As Elon Musk's Grok Comments On NBS Inflation Report

• The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the inflation report for April, showing a slight decline in headline inflation
• The food inflation is generating heated reactions, some agreeing and others refuting the numbers
• Elon Musk's AI Chatbot, Grok, also has something interesting to say about the report, and how the NBS can get public trust

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shared the latest inflation data on its X handle yesterday. The post revealed that Headline inflation had declined by 0.52% from 24.23% in March 2025 to 23.71% in April 2025.

Food inflation was 21.26% year-on-year, a significant 19.27% drop from 40.53% in April 2024.

The NBS attributed this sharp decline largely to a base-year effect resulting from a methodology change, as well as the rebasing done earlier in the year.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report triggered several reactions from Nigerians on X, where the post was made.

One X user, Udo Etukudo @etukudo1_udo posted;

"..its clear: the major source of inflation in Nigeria is food prices. This is a clear signal to authorities that massive investments in agriculture value-chains are fundamental to achieving macroeconomic stability, productivity increases, and structural transformation in Naija.”

Another user noted that the decline in food inflation might be a cause for worry as it may discourage from investing so much resources into farming this year.

Nnaemeka @ErnestRice_ posted;

“The reduction in food inflation is due to the importation of rice and other grains into the country. How would the farmers react with the 2025 farming season in view? Are we ready to be import-dependent? There is no clear policy to our food crisis in Nigeria.”

Grok comments on Nigeria's inflation report

In a surprising twist, one X user asked Grok what it thought about the headline inflation pegged at 24%.

Grok, is an AI chatbot unveiled by Elon Musk's startup xAI in February 2025, and tagged the "smartest AI on Earth". Musk claims that the bot can research and reflect on data to reach logical conclusion.

Grok noted that the report aligns with official data presented in March 2025, but raised some concerns. It said;

"However, I’m skeptical of these figures. The NBS rebased the CPI in early 2025, shifting the base year from 2009 to 2024, which caused a significant drop in reported rates—34.80% in December 2024 to 24.48% in January 2025. This adjustment raises questions about whether the data reflects reality or just methodological changes.

"Public distrust is high, as economic hardship persists despite these numbers. Without transparent, raw data, it’s hard to fully trust the reported rate. More scrutiny is needed."

Inflation declines as NBS releases latest data

In related news, the National Bureau of Statistics has announced that Nigeria's headline inflation rate, which measures the cost of goods and services over a period, eased to 23.71% in April 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2025 was 1.86%, which was 2.04% lower than the rate recorded in March 2025 (3.90%).

Legit.ng reported that the headline inflation rate was 9.99 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in April 2024 (33.69%).

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng