Nigeria’s overall inflation rate fell to 22.97% in May 2025, down from 23.71% in April. This is the second month in a row the country has seen a drop in inflation, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The CPI rose to 121.35 points in May, showing a month-on-month increase of 1.83 points. However, the pace of inflation slowed. The latest figures show a 0.74% drop from the previous month and a 10.98% decrease compared to May 2024, when the inflation rate stood at 33.95%.
Month-on-month, the headline inflation rate was 1.53% in May, lower than April’s 1.86%. This means that while prices still rose, they did so at a slower rate compared to the previous month.
Food inflation followed a similar pattern. On a yearly basis, food prices rose by 21.14% in May, a sharp decline from the 40.66% recorded in May 2024. This significant drop is partly due to a change in the statistical base year.
Despite the annual drop, food inflation rose slightly month-on-month to 2.19% in May, up from 2.06% in April. The increase is linked to slower decreases in the prices of key staples such as yam, ogbono, cassava, maize flour, fresh pepper, and sweet potatoes.
Over the past 12 months, food inflation averaged 29.80%, 4.26% lower than the 34.06% recorded in the previous twelve months.
State-level data shows Borno had the highest annual food inflation at 64.36%, followed by Bayelsa at 39.85% and Taraba at 38.58%. Meanwhile, Katsina (6.90%), Rivers (9.18%), and Kwara (11.31%) experienced the slowest rise in food prices.
On a month-to-month scale, Bayelsa again topped the chart with a 12.68% increase, followed by Cross River at 11.15% and Anambra at 9.10%. However, Katsina (-5.42%), Jigawa (-4.02%), and Kaduna (-3.27%) recorded a drop in food prices.
