Inflation rises to 15.69% in April as food, transport costs push prices higher — NBS

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ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.69 per cent in April 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The report, released in Abuja on Friday, showed that the April inflation figure represented an increase of 0.31 percentage points compared to the 15.38 per cent recorded in March 2026.

According to the NBS, the year-on-year headline inflation rate for April 2026 stood at 15.69 per cent compared to 26.82 per cent recorded in April 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate stood at 2.13 per cent in April, representing a decline of 2.05 percentage points from the 4.18 per cent recorded in March.

“This means that in April 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate recorded in March 2026,” the report stated.

The bureau identified food and non-alcoholic beverages as the highest contributors to headline inflation at 6.40 per cent, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 3.56 per cent and transport at 1.70 per cent.

The least contributors included recreation, sports and culture at 0.01 per cent, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics at 0.01 per cent, and insurance and financial services at 0.03 per cent.

The report also revealed that the Consumer Price Index rose to 138.3 in April from 135.4 recorded in March.

Food inflation stood at 16.06 per cent year-on-year in April 2026, compared to 24.68 per cent in April 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation declined to 3.63 per cent from 4.17 per cent recorded in March.

The NBS attributed the rise in food prices to increases in the cost of millet, yam flour, fresh ginger, beef, garri, yam tuber, fresh pepper, crayfish, cassava, beans, Irish potatoes, fresh tomatoes, wheat grain, soybeans, guinea corn, plantain and carrots, among other items.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.86 per cent year-on-year in April, representing a decline from 26.05 per cent recorded in April 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, core inflation dropped to 1.03 per cent in April from 4.03 per cent recorded in March.

The report further showed that energy inflation stood at 8.0 per cent, farm produce at 6.0 per cent, services at 2.1 per cent, goods at 3.2 per cent and imported food at 4.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis.

Urban inflation on a year-on-year basis stood at 15.40 per cent in April, while rural inflation was higher at 16.36 per cent.

The bureau disclosed that Sokoto recorded the highest year-on-year all-items inflation rate at 25.74 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 22.52 per cent and Zamfara at 22.03 per cent.

Edo recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation at 5.91 per cent, followed by Borno at 6.72 per cent and Jigawa at 7.04 per cent.

On a month-on-month basis, Niger recorded the highest inflation rate at 15.66 per cent, followed by Kano at 4.50 per cent and Plateau at 4.39 per cent.

Bayelsa, Enugu and Rivers recorded the slowest month-on-month inflation increases.

The report also showed that food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Enugu at 32.67 per cent, followed by Kwara at 30.77 per cent and Adamawa at 30.14 per cent.

Borno, Jigawa and Taraba recorded the slowest rise in food inflation during the period under review.

On a month-on-month basis, Niger recorded the highest food inflation rate at 8.53 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 6.78 per cent and Kogi at 6.72 per cent.

Kebbi, Katsina and Bayelsa recorded the slowest increase in food inflation in April 2026.