NBS report reflects ease in Nigeria’s inflation rate in April boosted by decline in food prices

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased for the first time in months, dropping to 23.71% in April, 2025, from 24.23% recorded in March 2025, according to the latest report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The 0.52 percentage point decline marks a modest relief in the country’s ongoing battle with inflation and was the first major indicator released under the recently rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI), which now uses 2024 as the new base year, with 2023 as the reference period for expenditure weights.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed significantly to 1.86% in April from 3.90% in March — a 2.04 percentage point drop that suggested a deceleration in the pace of price increases, especially in key sectors.

The easing headline inflation was driven largely by a reduction in food prices. The food inflation rate stood at 21.26% year-on-year in April, supported by a modest month-on-month deceleration to 2.06%, down from 2.18% in March. This was attributed to price drops in staple items, including maize flour, wheat grain, dried okro, yam flour, soya beans, rice, and various types of beans.

This moderation in food inflation, a major component of the CPI, comes as a welcome development in a country where food accounts for the largest share of household expenditures.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy, also declined to 23.39% year-on-year in April. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation slowed sharply to 1.34%, from 3.73% in March.

The NBS also reported new sub-indices under the rebased CPI, providing deeper insights into inflationary pressures. NBS said farm produce, 2.64%; energy: 9.21%; services: 3.44% and goods: 3.89%.

Urban areas experienced a year-on-year inflation rate of 24.29% in April, while rural inflation was slightly lower at 22.83%. However, the monthly trends diverged significantly: urban inflation slowed to 1.18% in April from 3.96% in March — a substantial 2.78 percentage point decline — while rural inflation dipped only slightly to 3.56% from 3.73% in the same period.

Inflation pressures remained uneven across Nigeria’s states. On a year-on-year basis, the highest increases in headline inflation were recorded in Enugu: 35.98%,
Kebbi: 35.13% and Niger: 34.85%.

Conversely, the slowest increases were observed in Ondo State: 13.43%, Cross River: 17.11% and Kwara State: 17.28%

Month-on-month, Sokoto State (16.26%), Nasarawa State (16.02%), and Niger State (14.74%) reported the steepest price surges, while Oyo State (-6.45%), Osun State (-4.54%), and Ondo State (-3.44%) experienced month-on-month declines in inflation.

The highest year-on-year food inflation rates were recorded in Benue State: 51.76%, Ekiti State: 34.05% and Kebbi State: 33.82%, respectively.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation skyrocketed in Benue State (25.59%), Ekiti State (16.73%), and Yobe State (13.92%), but fell sharply in Ebonyi State (-14.43%), Kano State (-11.37%), and Ogun State (-7.06%).