The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, showing a decline in food inflation for May 2026. The year-on-year food inflation rate dropped to 16.96%, down from 24.55% recorded in May 2025.
Month-on-Month Food Inflation Decreases
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at 2.98% in May 2026, a decrease of 0.65 percentage points compared to 3.63% recorded in April 2026. This indicates a slowdown in the rate at which food prices are increasing.
The NBS attributed the decline to changes in the average prices of key food items such as fresh onions, maize grains, melon (egusi), water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tuber, yam tuber, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain, and cowpeas.
The average year-on-year food inflation for the 12 months ending May 2026 was 16.99%, a significant 16.22 percentage point drop compared to 33.21% recorded in May 2025.
States With Highest Food Inflation
Food inflation varied substantially across states. Adamawa recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation at 29.62%, followed by Kwara at 28.47% and Rivers at 28.40%. Other states with high inflation include Enugu, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Delta, Ondo, and Benue.
- Adamawa: 29.6%
- Kwara: 28.5%
- Rivers: 28.4%
- Enugu: 27.8%
- Bauchi: 25.4%
- Plateau: 24.8%
- Kaduna: 24.0%
- Delta: 23.8%
- Ondo: 23.1%
- Benue: 22.7%
States With Lowest Food Inflation
On the other hand, Borno recorded the lowest food inflation rate at -6.53%, indicating a decline in average food prices compared to the previous year. Taraba and Bayelsa followed with the slowest increases at 1.13% and 5.99% respectively.
- Borno: -6.5%
- Taraba: 1.1%
- Bayelsa: 6.0%
- Nasarawa: 9.2%
- Niger: 9.8%
- Katsina: 10.6%
- Cross River: 11.6%
- Sokoto: 12.2%
- Ogun: 13.5%
- Akwa Ibom: 14.0%
Bauchi Records Highest Monthly Increase
On a month-on-month basis, Bauchi saw the highest increase in food inflation at 7.73%, followed by Ogun at 6.86% and Jigawa at 6.69%. Niger, Katsina, and Gombe recorded the lowest increases, with Katsina and Gombe even seeing declines.
The data suggests that while food price pressures remain high in many parts of Nigeria, the rate of inflation has slowed compared to earlier periods.
