Nigeria's headline inflation rate eased to 14.63% in September 2026 from 15.39% in August, according to the Consumer Price Index report the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Thursday, October 15, 2026, Legit.ng reported. The rate compares with 20.98% in September 2025. On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 0.06% in September from 0.71% in August.
Food Prices Fall on the Month
Food inflation recorded a month-on-month rate of minus 1.55% in September, down from 1.02% in August, The Whistler reported. "The negative rate indicates that food prices, on average, fell between August and September," the NBS stated, according to the same report.
On a year-on-year basis, food inflation stood at 19.59% in September 2026, against 20.16% in September 2025, Nairametrics reported. The average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months to September 2026 was 15.72%, compared with 28.37% a year earlier.
The bureau linked the monthly movement to changes in the prices of items including loose guinea corn flour, loose white maize flour, locally produced short-grain rice, eggs, fresh onions, palm oil, fresh green beans, Irish potatoes, okra, fresh tomatoes, dried green peas and plantain, The Whistler reported. The reports did not state the direction of the change for each item.
Lagos Tops State Food Inflation
State figures show wide gaps. Lagos recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation at 34.40%, followed by Imo at 33.79% and Ondo at 31.49%, according to The Whistler. Taraba posted the lowest rate at minus 7.47%, followed by Yobe at minus 0.37% and Borno at 2.18%.
Month on month, Imo recorded the fastest food price increase at 5.15%, followed by Ondo at 4.46% and Oyo at 3.82%. Adamawa recorded the steepest monthly fall at minus 13.84%, followed by Kano at minus 11.01% and Bauchi at minus 10.21%.
Core Inflation Rises on the Month
Core inflation, which excludes volatile farm produce and energy, stood at 12.95% year on year in September, down from 22.11% in September 2025, Nairametrics reported. On a monthly basis, however, core inflation rose to 1.11% from minus 0.06% in August.
Rural areas saw the sharper relief. Rural inflation stood at 12.46% year on year, with a month-on-month rate of minus 0.89%, while urban inflation stood at 15.64% year on year and rose 0.53% on the month.
The monthly fall in food prices is concentrated in northern states such as Adamawa, Kano and Bauchi, while Lagos, Imo and Ondo continue to carry the heaviest annual food inflation. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified prices of rice, beans, garri, tomatoes, eggs and palm oil across Lagos markets, where the state's 34.40% annual food inflation rate is felt at the market stall.