Nigeria's consumer inflation rose to 13.7 percent year-on-year in August from 13.0 percent the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

Growth in food prices, which form the bulk of the inflation index basket in Africa's most populous country, also rose to 15.1 percent year-on-year from 14.0 percent in July.

Nigeria's monetary policy committee (MPC), which has repeatedly voiced concern about inflation, is due to meet on Tuesday to review the country's benchmark interest rate, which has been on hold at 6.0 percent for more than a year.

Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi told Reuters on Thursday that weak bank lending was a "major worry" and that although he wants single-digit inflation by the end of the year, the central bank will do nothing to jeopardise economic growth.

"Bank lending has not been growing as fast as we would like it to grow. So as far as upside risk to inflation, it is not very high," Sanusi said in the interview.

He noted however higher government spending, with elections due next January, and the establishment of an asset management company (AMCON) to soak up bad bank loans should help put more money into the system, meaning the inflation risk was not zero.