Nigeria’s Inflation Drops To 14.63% As Food Prices Wobble

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja

Nigeria's headline inflation rate dropped to 14.63 percent in September 2026, down from 15.39 percent recorded in August.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NSB) in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Thursday, indicated a gradual drop in the country’s inflation rate during the month under review.

It highlighted that the headline inflation crashed by 6.35 percentage points from 20.98 per cent recorded in September 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation trimmed to 0.06 per cent in September from 0.71 per cent in August, representing a decline of 0.65 percentage points.

This implied that in September 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate recorded in August 2026. 

However, food inflation declined to 19.59 per cent in September 2026, down from 20.16 per cent recorded in September 2025, 

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at 1.55 per cent, representing a 2.57 percentage-point decline from 1.02 per cent recorded in August 2026.

This revealed that the average food price declined between August and September, although the year-on-year rate showed that food prices remained higher compared to September 2025.

The report attributed the food inflation to changes in the average prices of several food items, including loose guinea corn flour, loose white maize flour, local short-grain rice, eggs, fresh onions, palm oil, fresh green beans, Irish potatoes, okra, fresh tomatoes, dried green peas and plantain.

Despite the decline, Lagos recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation at 34.40 per cent, followed by Imo at 33.79 per cent and Ondo at 31.49 per cent.

But in Taraba, the State recorded the lowest year-on-year food inflation rate at -7.47 per cent, followed by Yobe at -0.37 per cent and Borno at 2.18 per cent.

Imo recorded the highest month-on-month food inflation at 5.15 per cent, followed by Ondo at 4.46 per cent and Oyo at 3.82 per cent, indicating that food prices, as measured by the index, increased in the states between August and September.

Adamawa recorded the lowest month-on-month rate at -13.84 per cent, followed by Kano at -11.01 per cent and Bauchi at -10.21 per cent. The negative rates indicate declines in the measured food price index over the period.

The NBS also revealed that the average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending September 2026 stood at 15.72 per cent, down from 28.37 per cent recorded in September 2025, representing a decline of 12.66 percentage points.

NBS warned against making direct comparisons of consumption baskets across states, explaining that the CPI is weighted according to household consumption expenditure patterns, which vary by location.

The latest figures highlighted that although food inflation eased nationally, the extent and direction of price changes differed across states.