NEWS
“The Headline Inflation Rate for January 2026 Stood at 15.10%” — National Bureau of Statistics Reports Sharp Decline as CPI Rebasing Drives Food Prices Down and Signals Early Economic Relief
Nigeria’s inflation rate eased to 15.10 percent in January 2026, signalling early relief from persistent price pressures, as consumer prices fell sharply following the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest CPI report, released on Monday, showed that the all-items index dropped to 127.4 points in January, representing a 3.8-point decline from December 2025. The moderation in price levels was largely driven by a sharp month-on-month contraction in food prices, offering renewed hope to households and businesses that have grappled with prolonged inflationary strain.
In a statement, Statistician-General of the Federation and CEO of NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, explained that on a year-on-year basis, headline inflation declined marginally by 0.05 percentage points from 15.15 percent in December 2025. More significantly, it fell by 12.51 percentage points from the 27.61 percent recorded in January 2025, a substantial drop that underscores the statistical and economic impact of the rebasing exercise.
He noted that the decline reflected the effect of the new 2024 CPI base year and the 2023 weight reference period, which adjusted the basket of goods and services used in computing inflation to better reflect current consumption patterns.
According to the report, “the headline inflation rate for January 2026 stood at 15.10%, falling by 0.05% and 12.51% when compared to 15.15% in December 2025 and 27.61% in January 2025, respectively.”
Further analysis revealed that the month-on-month headline inflation rate in January 2026 was -2.88 per cent, a marked improvement compared with 0.54 percent recorded in December 2025. This negative inflation rate indicates that, on average, consumer prices declined during the month, a rare and noteworthy development after extended periods of steady increases.
Food inflation emerged as the primary driver of the overall relief. On a year-on-year basis, food inflation slowed to 8.89 percent and contracted sharply by 6.02 percent month-on-month. The easing of food prices which account for a significant share of household expenditure brought measurable respite to consumers nationwide.
The Bureau attributed the drop to lower prices of key staples including yams, eggs, maize, beans, beef, cassava, palm oil, and groundnut oil. The widespread decline in these essential commodities eased pressure on household spending after months of sustained increases that had strained disposable incomes.
The report stated, “the decrease can be attributed to the rate of decrease in the average prices of Water Yam, Eggs, Green Peas, Groundnut Oil, Soya Beans, Palm Oil, Maize (Corn) Grains, Guinea Corn, Beans, Beef Meat, Melon (Egusi) Unshelled, Cassava Tuber, Cow Peas (White), among others.”
Despite the overall national improvement, inflationary trends remained uneven across states, reflecting ongoing regional disparities in price movements. Benue (22.48 percent), Kogi (20.98 percent), and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (19.25 percent) recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation rates. In contrast, Ebonyi (8.72 percent), Katsina (8.94 percent), and Imo (10.61 percent) posted the slowest increases, suggesting varied economic conditions and market dynamics across the federation.
The January figures therefore present a cautiously optimistic outlook: while the CPI rebasing has statistically moderated inflation and food prices have shown tangible declines, regional imbalances and underlying economic pressures remain factors to monitor i
n the months ahead.