Nigeria’s headline inflation rate has eased to 15.43 per cent, offering a measure of relief after months of elevated price growth. Yet behind the softer headline figure, fresh data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveal a sharp acceleration in food prices that is tightening pressure on households.

The latest Consumer Price Index report shows headline inflation declining by 0.48 percentage points from 15.91 per cent in the previous month, signalling a slower overall pace of price increases across the economy.

However, food inflation on a month-on-month basis surged to 5.56 per cent, up from 3.75 per cent. This 1.82 percentage-point jump underscores how quickly the cost of basic staples is rising, even as the broader inflation trend appears to moderate.

The NBS attributed the spike to higher average prices of widely consumed items such as rice, garri, plantain, tomatoes, onions, fresh pepper, carrots, water yam, crayfish, beef, eggs, guinea corn, ginger and plantain flour. For many families, these products form the core of daily meals, meaning any increase is felt immediately in household budgets.

On a year-on-year basis, food inflation actually slowed to 20.31 per cent, compared with 26.20 per cent a year earlier, reflecting some success in curbing longer-term price pressures. The divergence between the annual and monthly readings, however, highlights renewed short-term volatility in food markets.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile farm produce and energy, also pointed to easing pressures. It fell to 14.97 per cent year-on-year, down sharply from 23.95 per cent a year earlier. Month-on-month, core inflation slowed to 0.15 per cent from 1.66 per cent, suggesting that non-food, non-energy prices are stabilising more quickly.

The overall Consumer Price Index rose to 145.3 points from 143.0 points, indicating that while prices are still climbing, they are doing so at a slower pace. Monthly headline inflation dipped to 1.57 per cent from 1.66 per cent, reinforcing the picture of a gradual deceleration.

Behind the national averages, food inflation remains highly uneven across states. Adamawa recorded the highest annual food inflation at 51.36 per cent, followed by Katsina at 30.84 per cent and Zamfara at 30.65 per cent. At the lower end, Borno posted a marginally negative rate of 0.31 per cent, while Nasarawa and Kebbi recorded 6.88 per cent and 12.50 per cent, respectively.

On a monthly basis, Adamawa again led with 17.02 per cent food inflation, trailed by Lagos at 13.48 per cent and Borno at 13.26 per cent, while Jigawa, Kebbi and Bauchi saw declines. The figures underline the complex challenge facing policymakers as they attempt to tame inflation while ensuring food remains affordable across all regions.