Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May, from 15.69 per cent in April, marking the first increase in two months.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed the figure in its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released on Monday, June 15.
The latest figure signals persistent price pressures across the economy despite a sharp decline from the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025.
Similarly, the NBS reported that food inflation rose to 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May, although this was lower than the 24.55 per cent recorded a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation accelerated to 2.98 per cent, driven by increases in the prices of onions, maize, tomatoes, water yams, and other tubers.
The food prices remained the single biggest driver of inflation, as the NBS reported that the food and non-alcoholic beverages category contributed 6.38 percentage points to the headline inflation rate.
It shows that while restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, transport accounted for 1.70 percentage points, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels added 1.34 percentage points, and education services contributed 0.99 percentage points.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 16.82 per cent year-on-year, higher than the headline inflation rate of 15.93 per cent.
Although core inflation was lower than the 24.92 per cent recorded in May 2025, its month-on-month rate climbed sharply to 1.94 per cent from 1.03 per cent in April.
The higher core inflation reading suggests that underlying price pressures in the economy remained strong even as food and energy-related volatility moderated.
READ ALSO:
- Nigeria’s Inflation Rises to 15.69% in April As Energy Shocks Persist
- Nigeria’s Inflation Eases To 15.06% In February – NBS
- Nigeria’s Headline Inflation Rises to15.38% in March – NBS
- Rising Costs Put Inflation Gains at Risk — CPPE Warns
According to the NBS, rising costs in restaurants and accommodation services, transport, and housing-related services were among the major drivers of the increase.
The CPI, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services, rose to 140.7 points in May from 138.3 points in April.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation stood at 1.75 per cent, lower than the 2.13 per cent recorded in April, indicating that prices continued to rise but at a slower pace than the previous month.
The average annual inflation rate for the 12 months ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 per cent, compared with 30.57 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025, reflecting a substantial easing in overall inflationary pressures over the past year.
According to the NBS monthly report, inflationary pressures also varied across urban and rural areas.
Urban inflation stood at 16.07 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation was slightly lower at 15.60 per cent.
On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation rose to 1.99 per cent from 1.86 per cent in April, while rural inflation fell sharply to 1.17 per cent from 2.80 per cent.
At the state level, Yobe recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent.
In contrast, Niger posted the lowest inflation rate at 3.07 per cent, while Plateau and Edo recorded 7.10 per cent and 7.73 per cent respectively.
Benue, Bayelsa, and Borno recorded the highest month-on-month increases in prices, with inflation rates of 8.23 per cent, 7.62 per cent, and 7.29 per cent, respectively.
The sharp increases in Benue and Bayelsa were largely driven by higher farm produce and energy costs.
Benue recorded a 10.1 per cent rise in farm produce prices and a 21 per cent increase in energy costs, while Bayelsa saw farm produce prices rise by 11.5 per cent and energy costs surge by 28 per cent.
On the other hand, Niger, Zamfara, and Taraba recorded deflationary movements on a month-on-month basis, with inflation rates of negative 4.55 per cent, negative 3.36 per cent, and negative 2.67 per cent, respectively, indicating a decline in average prices during the month.
Food inflation trends also differed significantly across states, as Borno recorded food deflation of 6.53 per cent, while Taraba posted a marginal food inflation rate of 1.13 per cent, making them the states with the slowest food price increases in the country.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X