Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose marginally to 15.93 per cent in May 2026 on a year-on-year basis, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report, presented by the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, showed that the inflation rate increased from 15.69 per cent recorded in April 2026 but remained significantly lower than the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, however, inflation slowed to 1.75 per cent in May from 2.13 per cent in April, indicating a moderation in the pace of price increases across the economy.
The NBS noted that the latest figures are based on the newly rebased CPI, which adopts 2024 as the base year and 2023 as the weight reference period. Under the revised methodology, the CPI rose to 140.7 points in May, representing a 2.4-point increase from the preceding month.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 2.06 percentage points and transport at 1.70 percentage points.
Food inflation stood at 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May, down from 24.55 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. On a monthly basis, food inflation eased to 2.98 per cent from 3.63 per cent in April.
According to the bureau, rising prices of onions, maize, tomatoes, pepper, cassava products, yam, sweet potatoes, plantain, cowpea and crayfish were among the major factors driving food inflation during the month.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, increased to 16.82 per cent year-on-year in May. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation accelerated to 1.94 per cent from 1.03 per cent recorded in April.
The NBS also released data for newly introduced inflation sub-indices. Services recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 17.92 per cent, followed by imported food at 14.60 per cent. Energy inflation stood at 5.73 per cent, while goods inflation was 6.62 per cent. Farm produce recorded a negative annual inflation rate of -1.26 per cent.
Urban inflation remained slightly higher than rural inflation. Urban areas recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 16.07 per cent, while rural areas posted 15.60 per cent. On a monthly basis, urban inflation rose by 1.99 per cent compared to 1.17 per cent in rural areas.
At the state level, Yobe 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. Niger State recorded the lowest headline inflation rate at 3.07 per cent, while Plateau and Edo posted 7.10 per cent and 7.73 per cent respectively.
For food inflation, Adamawa topped the chart with 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara at 28.47 per cent and Rivers at 28.40 per cent. Borno recorded the lowest food inflation rate at -6.53 per cent, while Taraba and Bayelsa posted 1.13 per cent and 5.99 per cent respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, Benue, Bayelsa and Borno recorded the highest increases in headline inflation, while Niger, Zamfara and Taraba experienced declines. In food inflation, Bauchi, Ogun and Jigawa recorded the highest monthly increases, while Niger, Katsina and Gombe recorded decreases.
The latest figures suggest that while inflationary pressures remain a challenge, the pace of price increases has continued to moderate compared to the previous year, particularly in food prices, offering some relief to households and businesses.
