By Frontline Reporters
Nigeria’s inflationary pressure deepened in April 2026 as soaring food prices, rising transport fares, and increased costs of healthcare and hospitality pushed the country’s headline inflation rate to 15.69 per cent.
Fresh figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed that inflation climbed from the 15.38 per cent recorded in March, highlighting the persistent burden of rising living costs on households and businesses across the country.
According to the bureau’s Consumer Price Index report, the increase represents a 0.31 percentage point rise within one month, even though the pace of monthly price growth slowed compared to March. The report noted that the CPI rose to 138.3 points in April from 135.4 points recorded in March, reflecting continued pressure on consumer spending nationwide.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest inflation driver, contributing 6.40 percentage points to the overall rate. Restaurants and accommodation services followed with 3.56 percentage points, while transport costs accounted for 1.70 percentage points amid rising fuel and logistics expenses. Healthcare, housing, electricity, gas and other essential services also added significant pressure to household budgets.
Despite the yearly increase, the NBS said monthly inflation growth eased slightly, with headline inflation slowing to 2.13 per cent in April from 4.18 per cent in March. The bureau explained that although prices were still rising, the speed of increase was lower than what consumers experienced in the previous month.
Food inflation remained a major concern as staple commodities such as millet, garri, yam flour, tomatoes, beans, pepper, crayfish, beef, cassava, soybeans, plantain and wheat grain recorded sharp price increases across markets. Annual food inflation stood at 16.06 per cent in April 2026, while month-on-month food inflation slowed marginally to 3.63 per cent from 4.17 per cent in March.
The report further showed disparities between urban and rural inflation patterns. Urban inflation stood at 15.40 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation rose higher at 16.36 per cent, underscoring the heavier impact of rising prices on rural communities where transportation and supply chain challenges continue to worsen food costs.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.86 per cent year-on-year, while services inflation reached 16.7 per cent. Farm produce inflation surged by 19.8 per cent annually, and energy inflation recorded an eight per cent monthly increase, reflecting sustained pressure from electricity, fuel and energy-related costs.
At the state level, Sokoto emerged with the highest all-items inflation rate at 25.74 per cent, followed by Bauchi and Zamfara, while Edo recorded the slowest inflation rise. Enugu posted the highest food inflation rate at 32.67 per cent, ahead of Kwara and Adamawa, revealing the uneven impact of rising prices across different regions of the country.
The latest figures came slightly below the 16.42 per cent inflation projection earlier made by the Financial Market Dealers Association, although analysts say food prices, energy costs and global commodity pressures remain major threats to economic stability and household purchasing power in the months ahead.
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2026-05-13
2026-05-14