Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Moderates to 14.63% in September 2026 from 15.39%

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday disclosed that the inflation rate in Nigeria slowed by 0.76 per cent in September 2026 to 14.63 per cent from 15.39 per cent in August 2026.

The stats agency also disclosed that last month’s inflation was 6.35 per cent lower than the 20.98 per cent recorded in the same period of 2025.

It further stated that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September 2026 stood at 0.06 per cent, which is 0.65 per cent lower than the 0.71 per cent recorded in August 2026. This means that in September 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in August 2026.

It was observed that the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending September 2026 over the average for the previous 12-month period was 15.80 per cent, lower than the 27.31 per cent recorded in September 2025 by 11.51 per cent.

As for the food inflation, it stood at 19.59 per cent in September 2026 on a year-on-year basis and at 20.16 per cent in the same month of the preceding year, and on a month-on-month basis, it was -1.55 per cent last month compared with 2.57 per cent in August 2026.

This was attributed to the rate of change in the average prices of Guinea corn flour, Maize (Corn) Flour White (sold loose), Rice Local, short-Grained, Egg, Onion Fresh, Palm oil, Green Beans Fresh, Irish Potatoe, Okra, Tomatoes Fresh, Green Peas (Dried), Plantain, etc.

The average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending September 2026 over the previous 12-month average was 15.72 per cent, which was 12.66 per cent lower than the average of 28.73 per cent in September 2025.