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), marking the third consecutive monthly increase this year.
The NBS report showed that the Consumer Price Index climbed to 140.7 in May from 138.3 recorded in April, reflecting sustained pressure on consumer prices across the economy.
On a month-on-month basis, however, headline inflation slowed to 1.75 per cent in May, down from 2.13 per cent recorded in April, indicating that the pace of price increases moderated during the month.
The annual inflation rate has steadily increased in recent months, rising from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April before reaching 15.93 per cent in May.
Despite the upward trend, the latest figure remains significantly lower than the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025, highlighting a broader easing of inflationary pressures compared to a year earlier.
According to the NBS, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, while transport added 1.70 percentage points. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.34 percentage points.
Education services accounted for 0.99 percentage points of the inflation rate, followed by health services at 0.97 percentage points and clothing and footwear at 0.80 percentage points.
The report showed that average inflation for the 12 months ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 per cent, compared with 30.57 per cent recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Food inflation remained a major driver of rising prices, with the annual food inflation rate standing at 16.96 per cent in May, compared with 24.55 per cent in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, food inflation eased to 2.98 per cent from 3.63 per cent in April.
The NBS attributed the increase in food prices to higher costs of staple items, including onions, maize, melon, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat, yam, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpea.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 16.82 per cent year-on-year in May, down from 24.92 per cent in May 2025. However, on a monthly basis, core inflation accelerated to 1.94 per cent from 1.03 per cent in April, suggesting stronger underlying price pressures.
Urban inflation rose to 16.07 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation stood at 15.60 per cent.
At the state level, Yobe recorded the highest annual headline inflation rate at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent. Niger recorded the lowest annual inflation rate at 3.07 per cent, ahead of Plateau at 7.10 per cent and Edo at 7.73 per cent.
On a month-on-month basis, Benue posted the highest inflation increase at 8.23 per cent, while Bayelsa and Borno recorded 7.62 per cent and 7.29 per cent, respectively.
The NBS noted that services inflation remained elevated at 17.92 per cent year-on-year, while imported food inflation stood at 14.60 per cent annually.
