NBS reports uptick in inflation as headline rate hits 15.15%

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.15 per cent in December 2025, marking a slight increase after months of steady decline.

The figure was contained in the Bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Thursday.

According to the NBS, the CPI — which tracks changes in the prices of goods and services — increased to 131.2 points in December 2025, representing a rise of 0.7 points from 130.5 recorded in November.

On a year-on-year basis, the Bureau said headline inflation stood at 15.15 per cent, compared with 17.33 per cent in November 2025.

Earlier in January, the NBS had cautioned that the December inflation figure could reflect a temporary “artificial spike”, largely due to adjustments arising from the rebasing of the CPI.

The Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, explained that the increase was linked to the base effect of December 2024, which was reset to 100 following the rebasing exercise.

Despite the rise, the NBS noted that inflation in December 2025 was 19.65 percentage points lower than the 34.8 per cent recorded in December 2024.

“This indicates that the headline inflation rate on a year-on-year basis declined in December 2025 when compared to the same period in 2024, though calculated using a different base year,” the agency stated.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at 0.54 per cent, down from 1.22 per cent in November, indicating a slower pace of price increases.

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Food Inflation Drops to 10.84%

The NBS also reported a decline in food inflation, which stood at 10.84 per cent year-on-year in December 2025.

This represents a significant drop from the 39.84 per cent recorded in December 2024.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation declined by 0.36 per cent, compared to an increase of 1.13 per cent in November.

The Bureau attributed the decline to falling prices of key food items such as tomatoes, garri, eggs, potatoes, carrots, millet, vegetables, plantain, beans, wheat grain, pepper and onions.

The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending December 2025 stood at 22.00 per cent.

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State-by-State Breakdown

On a year-on-year basis, Yobe (15.25%), Ogun (14.12%), and the Federal Capital Territory (13.24%) recorded the highest food inflation rates.

Conversely, Akwa Ibom (4.34%), Sokoto (4.62%), and Plateau (6.19%) posted the slowest rise in food prices.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Imo (3.19%), Nasarawa (3.16%), and Yobe (1.18%), while Plateau (-2.76%), Rivers (-2.50%), and Zamfara (-1.93%) recorded declines.

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The December figure brings to an end an eight-month streak of steady inflation decline, though analysts note that the rate remains within the Federal Government’s target range.