By: Mardiyyah Abubakar
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.39 per cent in August 2026, driven largely by a significant slowdown in food price growth, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.
The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index report for August, released on Monday, noting that the figure was 0.04 percentage points lower than the 15.43 per cent recorded in July.
The August rate also marks a sharp decline from the 23.14 per cent recorded in August 2025. On a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.
Despite the moderation, the Consumer Price Index rose to 146.3 points in August from 145.3 points in July, indicating that average prices of goods and services continued to rise, although at a slower pace.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remains the largest contributor to annual inflation, accounting for 6.16 percentage points. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 1.99 points, transport 1.64 points, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.30 points.
Food inflation stands at 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August, down from 25.30 per cent in August 2025. On a month-on-month basis, it fell sharply to 1.02 per cent from 5.56 per cent in July.
The NBS attributes the moderation to changes in the average prices of several food items, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon, fresh ginger, fish, Irish potatoes, wheat, chicken and turkey.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, also declined to 13.29 per cent year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, it stood at -0.06 per cent in August, compared with 0.15 per cent in July.
Inflation varies across the country, with urban inflation at 15.88 per cent and rural inflation at 14.23 per cent. Lagos recorded the highest headline inflation at 23.68 per cent, followed by Zamfara at 22.56 per cent and Enugu at 22.06 per cent, while Sokoto recorded the lowest at 2.11 per cent.
Adamawa posts the highest food inflation at 38.85 per cent, followed by Zamfara at 37.96 per cent and Bayelsa at 36.20 per cent.
The NBS cautions that differences in consumption patterns and Consumer Price Index weights mean direct comparisons between states may be misleading.
