Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, up from 15.69 per cent recorded in April 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
However, on a month-on-month basis, inflation eased to 1.75 per cent in May, representing a decline of 0.39 percentage points from the 2.13 per cent recorded in April.
The NBS also reported that food inflation moderated on a month-on-month basis, falling to 2.98 per cent in May from 3.63 per cent in April, a decrease of 0.65 percentage points.
Year-on-year, food inflation stood at 16.96 per cent in May 2026, significantly lower than the 24.55 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of May 2025.
According to the bureau, the increase in food prices was driven by changes in the average prices of key staples, including fresh onions, maize grains, melon (egusi), water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tubers, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, fresh ginger, plantain and cowpea, among others.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 16.82 per cent year-on-year in May 2026. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation accelerated to 1.94 per cent, compared to 1.03 per cent recorded in April.
The report further showed significant variations in inflation rates across states.
On a year-on-year basis, Yobe State recorded the highest headline inflation rate at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent.
In contrast, Niger State posted the lowest inflation rate at 3.07 per cent, while Plateau and Edo recorded 7.10 per cent and 7.73 per cent, respectively.
Month-on-month, the highest increases in headline inflation were recorded in Benue (8.23 per cent), Bayelsa (7.62 per cent) and Borno (7.29 per cent). Meanwhile, Niger (-4.55 per cent), Zamfara (-3.36 per cent) and Taraba (-2.67 per cent) recorded declines.
For food inflation on a year-on-year basis, Adamawa recorded the highest rate at 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara (28.47 per cent) and Rivers (28.40 per cent). The slowest increases were recorded in Borno (-6.53 per cent), Taraba (1.13 per cent) and Bayelsa (5.99 per cent).
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Bauchi (7.73 per cent), Ogun (6.86 per cent) and Jigawa (6.69 per cent). States with the slowest food inflation rates were Niger (-3.54 per cent), Katsina (-3.48 per cent) and Gombe (-2.22 per cent), the NBS stated.