NIGERIA’S INFLATION DROPS TO 15.10% IN JANUARY AS CPI REBASING EASES PRICE PRESSURES

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By Aisha Momoh. O.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 15.10 percent in January 2026, reflecting a sharp moderation in consumer prices following the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

The latest CPI report showed that the all-items index declined to 127.4 points in January, representing a 3.8-point drop from December 2025. The moderation was largely driven by a steep month-on-month contraction in food prices.

Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, said headline inflation fell marginally by 0.05 percentage points from 15.15 percent in December 2025 and declined significantly by 12.51 percentage points from 27.61 percent recorded in January 2025. The sharp annual drop reflects the adoption of a new 2024 CPI base year and 2023 weight reference period.

Month-on-month, headline inflation stood at -2.88 percent in January, compared to 0.54 percent in December, marking a 3.42 percentage-point decline.

Food inflation provided the biggest relief, slowing to 8.89 percent year-on-year and contracting by 6.02 percent month-on-month. The NBS attributed the drop to lower average prices of staple items such as yam, eggs, maize, beans, beef, cassava, palm oil, and groundnut oil.

Despite the overall improvement, inflationary pressures remained uneven across states. Benue (22.48 percent), Kogi (20.98 percent), and the Federal Capital Territory (19.25 percent) recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rates, while Ebonyi (8.72 percent), Katsina (8.94 percent), and Imo (10.61 percent) posted the slowest increases.

The data signals early relief from persistent price pressures, although regional disparities in consumer prices continue to pose challenges.