Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 15.93 percent in May 2026, marking the third consecutive rise this year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest figures were contained in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
On a year-on-year basis, the bureau said inflation rose slightly compared to the previous month, though it remained significantly lower than levels recorded a year earlier.
“On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.93%, up from 15.69% in April 2026 and down from 26.06% in the same month of the preceding year (May 2025),” the NBS said.
The bureau added that price pressures continued to edge upward month-on-month, albeit at a slower pace than in April.
“Looking at the movement, the May 2026 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24% compared to the April 2026 Headline inflation rate,” it stated.
However, the report noted a moderation in monthly inflation growth.
“In May 2026, the headline inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 1.75%, which was 0.39% lower than the rate recorded in April 2026 (2.13%). This means that in May 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in April 2026.”
The NBS also reported a marginal increase in food inflation, which rose to 16.96 percent year-on-year in May 2026, compared to 16.68 percent in April. This figure remains lower than the 24.55 percent recorded in May 2025.
“Food inflation rate in May 2026 on a month-on-month basis was 2.98%, down by 0.65% points from April 2026 (3.63%),” the report said.
The bureau attributed the movement in food prices to changes in the average cost of key staples, including onions (fresh), maize (corn) grains, melon (egusi), water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tuber, yam tuber, sweet potatoes, fresh ginger, plantain and cowpea, among others.
The report showed significant disparities across states.
On a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Adamawa (29.62%), Kwara (28.47%), and Rivers (28.40%), while Borno (-6.53%), Taraba (1.13%), and Bayelsa (5.99%) recorded the slowest increases.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose most sharply in Bauchi (7.73%), Ogun (6.86%), and Jigawa (6.69%).
Conversely, Niger (3.54%), Katsina (-3.48%), and Gombe (-2.22%) recorded the slowest increases in monthly food inflation.
Boluwatife Enome
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