Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined to 23.71% in April 2025 from 24.23% in March, marking the first slowdown in several months, according to a new report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The 0.52 percentage point dip offers a modest reprieve in the country’s ongoing struggle with rising prices. It also represents the first major inflation data published under the newly rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI), which now uses 2024 as the base year, with 2023 as the reference for household expenditure patterns.
Month-on-month, the inflation rate fell sharply to 1.86% in April from 3.90% in March, indicating a slower pace of price increases across various sectors.
The decline was largely driven by a moderation in food prices. Food inflation — a key component of the CPI — dropped to 21.26% year-on-year in April, with a slight month-on-month decrease to 2.06% from 2.18% in March. The NBS attributed this to price reductions in staple items such as maize flour, rice, wheat, dried okra, yam flour, soya beans, and different varieties of beans.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile items like food and energy, also eased to 23.39% year-on-year. Month-on-month core inflation slowed significantly to 1.34% from 3.73% the previous month.
Under the rebased CPI, the NBS introduced new sub-indices to offer deeper insights: farm produce (2.64%), energy (9.21%), services (3.44%), and goods (3.89%).
Urban inflation stood at 24.29% year-on-year in April, while rural inflation was slightly lower at 22.83%. However, the monthly trends showed stark differences: urban inflation dropped to 1.18% in April from 3.96% in March, while rural inflation dipped marginally to 3.56% from 3.73%.
State-level data revealed sharp regional disparities. The highest annual headline inflation rates were recorded in Enugu (35.98%), Kebbi (35.13%), and Niger (34.85%). On the other hand, Ondo (13.43%), Cross River (17.11%), and Kwara (17.28%) posted the lowest inflation rates.
Month-on-month, Sokoto (16.26%), Nasarawa (16.02%), and Niger (14.74%) saw the steepest increases in prices, while Oyo (-6.45%), Osun (-4.54%), and Ondo (-3.44%) experienced notable declines.
Food inflation remained particularly volatile. Benue State reported the highest year-on-year food inflation at 51.76%, followed by Ekiti (34.05%) and Kebbi (33.82%). Month-on-month food inflation spiked in Benue (25.59%), Ekiti (16.73%), and Yobe (13.92%), while Ebonyi (-14.43%), Kano (-11.37%), and Ogun (-7.06%) saw the sharpest food price declines.
The latest figures suggest tentative progress in easing inflationary pressures, particularly in the food sector, though regional disparities and core inflation levels indicate that price stability remains a challenge.
