KEY POINTS

• Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 15.93% in May 2026, marking the third consecutive rise this year.
• Food inflation also rose to 16.96%, driven by changes in the prices of major food items such as maize, tomatoes, onions and yam.
• Adamawa, Kwara and Rivers recorded the highest annual food inflation rates, while Bauchi led monthly food price increases.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figure represents an increase from the 15.69 per cent recorded in April 2026, marking the third consecutive rise in the country’s inflation rate this year.

However, despite the monthly increase, inflation remains significantly lower than the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025, indicating that price pressures have eased compared to the same period last year.

According to the NBS, the headline inflation rate increased by 0.24 percentage points compared with April.

On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate stood at 1.75 per cent in May, lower than the 2.13 per cent recorded in April.

The statistics agency explained that this means the pace at which prices increased in May was slower than the rate recorded in the previous month, suggesting that although prices are still rising, they are doing so at a reduced speed.

Food Inflation Edges Higher to 16.96%

The report showed that food inflation rose slightly to 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May, up from 16.68 per cent recorded in April.

Nevertheless, the figure remained far below the 24.55 per cent recorded in May 2025.

On a monthly basis, food inflation slowed to 2.98 per cent, compared with 3.63 per cent in April.

The NBS attributed movements in food prices to changes in the average prices of key staples and agricultural products, including fresh onions, maize, melon (egusi), water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tubers, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpeas.

State-by-state data released by the bureau showed that Adamawa recorded the highest food inflation on a year-on-year basis at 29.62 per cent.

Kwara followed with 28.47 per cent, while Rivers State posted 28.40 per cent.

In contrast, Borno State recorded a decline in food inflation of -6.53 per cent, while Taraba and Bayelsa experienced the slowest increases at 1.13 per cent and 5.99 per cent respectively.

On a month-on-month basis, Bauchi State recorded the sharpest rise in food inflation at 7.73 per cent.

Ogun State followed with 6.86 per cent, while Jigawa posted 6.69 per cent.

Meanwhile, Niger State recorded the slowest increase at 3.54 per cent, while Katsina and Gombe experienced declines of 3.48 per cent and 2.22 per cent respectively.

The latest inflation figures indicate that while overall prices continue to rise across the country, the pace of increase has moderated compared with previous months and the same period last year.

Economists and policymakers are expected to closely monitor inflation trends as the government and the Central Bank of Nigeria continue efforts to stabilise prices and support economic growth.