New data from Nigeria's statistics bureau has delivered a dose of welcome relief, showing a significant slowdown in the relentless rise of food prices across the country as 2025 drew to a close.
December 2025 Brings Inflation Relief
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the food inflation rate for December 2025 dropped sharply to 10.84%. This figure represents a massive decrease of 29.0% compared to the rate recorded in December 2024, which stood at a punishing 39.84%. This indicates that Nigerian households spent relatively less to put meals on the table at the end of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year.
On a month-on-month basis, the news was even more positive. The food inflation rate declined to -0.36% in December, down by 1.49% from the 1.13% rate seen in November 2025. This negative figure means average food prices actually decreased slightly from November to December.
States Where Food Pinched the Most in 2025
Despite the nationwide cooling of prices, the full-year data for 2025 highlighted stark disparities between states. An analysis of the year-on-year figures for December 2025 reveals the ten states where residents faced the highest food inflation rates:
- Yobe – 15.25%
- Ogun – 14.12%
- Abuja (FCT) – 13.24%
- Ekiti – 12.6%
- Lagos & Delta – 12.5%
- Rivers – 12.3%
- Kano – 12.0%
- Kogi & Osun – 11.9%
The data confirms that for the entirety of 2025, residents of Yobe, Ogun, and Abuja consistently paid more for their food baskets compared to others. The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending December 2025 was 22.00%, underscoring the persistent, though now easing, pressure on food budgets.
Key Food Items That Saw Price Drops
The slowdown in food inflation was driven by noticeable decreases in the prices of several essential commodities. According to the NBS report, the following items became more affordable in December 2025:
- Tomatoes and fresh onions
- Garri
- Eggs
- Potatoes and carrots
- Millet and wheat grain
- Vegetables and plantain
- Beans and ground pepper
This trend aligns with earlier reports of falling staple prices. For instance, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had previously announced that the price for a 50kg bag of locally produced rice in the state had fallen to between N57,000 and N58,000. He cited this as a sign of improving inflation and economic stability.
Headline Inflation Also Shows Significant Improvement
The positive trend was not limited to food. The NBS also reported that the year-on-year headline inflation rate for December 2025 stood at 15.15%. This is down from 17.33% in November 2025 and marks a dramatic decrease of 19.65 percentage points from the December 2024 rate of 34.80%.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in December 2025 was 0.54%, which is 0.69% lower than the 1.22% rate recorded in November. This broad slowdown in the rate of price increases across the economy offers a glimmer of hope for Nigerians after a brutal year of financial pressure and price shocks.
