The headline inflation notched up to 15.69% in April 2026 from 15.38% figure in March 2026, National Bureau of Statistics NBS disclosed in inflation Data for month of April released on Friday
The food inflation rate in April 2026 was 16.06% on a year-on-year basis.
The month-on-month headline inflation rate in April 2026 was 2.13%, which was 2.05% lower than the rate recorded in March 2026 (4.18%). According to the Bureau, major contributors to the headline inflation were food and non-alcoholic Blbeverages: 6.40%, restaurants & accommodation services 3.56%, and transport 1.70%; while the least contributors were recreation, sport, and culture, 0.01%, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and Narcotics: 0.01%, and Insurance and Financial Services: 0.03%.
The food inflation rate in April 2026 was 16.06% on a year-on-year basis, lower than 24.68% recorded in April 2025. Also, on a month-on-month basis, the Food Inflation rate in April 2026 was 3.63%, down by 0.54% points from March 2026 (4.17%).
“This can be attributed to the rate of change in the average prices of Millet Whole grain, Yam Flour, Ginger (Fresh), Beef, Garri, Yam Tuber, Pepper (Fresh), Cray Fish, Cassava Tuber, Beans, Irish Potatoes, Tomatoes (Fresh), Wheat Grain (Sold loose), Soy Beans, Guinea Corn, Plantain, Carrots (Fresh), among others”, NBS explained.
In month of April, core Inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 15.86% on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 1.03% in April 2026, down by 3.0% compared to March 2026 (4.03%).
The inflation rate of the sub-indices for April 2026 shows that the monthly change recorded were Farm Produce (6.0%), Energy (8.0%), Services (2.1%), Goods (3.2%) and Imported Food (4.4%). Meanwhile, the inflation rate on a year-on-year basis recorded were as follows; Farm Produce (19.8%), Energy (4.6%), Services (16.7%), Goods (15.7%) and Imported Food (10.5%).
On a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate in April 2026 was 15.40%. On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 1.86% in April 2026, down by 1.3% compared to March 2026 (3.16%).
The rural inflation rate in April 2026 was 16.36% on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in April 2026 was 2.80%, down by 3.93% compared to March 2026 (6.73%).
Inflation varies across states in April.
All-Items inflation rate on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Sokoto (25.74%), Bauchi (22.52%), and Zamfara (22.03%), while Edo (5.91%), Borno (6.72%) and Jigawa (7.04%) recorded the lowest rise in Headline inflation on a Year-on-Year basis. On a Month-on-Month basis, however, April 2026 recorded the highest increases in Niger (5.66%), Kano (4.50%) and Plateau (4.39%), while Bayelsa (0.64%), Enugu (0.98%), and Rivers (1.02%) recorded a decline in the Month-on-Month inflation.
State-level analyses of the food index in April 2026 show that Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Enugu (32.67%), Kwara (30.77%), and Adamawa (30.14%), while Borno (1.67%), Jigawa (6.17%) and Taraba (7.19%) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis. On a Month-on-Month basis, however, April 2026 Food inflation was highest in Niger (8.53%), Bauchi (6.78%) and Kogi (6.72%), while Kebbi (0.23%), Katsina (0.47%), and Bayelsa (1.29%) recorded a decline in Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis.
