By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped marginally to 15.10 per cent in January, down from 15.15 per cent recorded in December.
This is according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the NBS on Monday, February 16.
The report showed that the CPI declined to 127.4 in January from 131.2 in December, representing a 3.8-point decrease.
It also stated that the January headline inflation rate was 0.05 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in December.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate stood at 15.10 per cent in January this year, a 12.51 percentage points lower than the 27.61 per cent recorded in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation stood at -2.88 per cent in January, compared to 0.54 per cent in December, indicating that the average price level declined during the month.
The report read, “The Consumer Price Index declined to 127.4 in January 2026, reflecting a 3.8-point decrease from the preceding month (131.2).
“In January 2026, the Headline inflation rate eased to 15.10 percent, down from 15.15 per cent in December 2025. Looking at the movement, the January 2026 Headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.05 per cent compared to the December 2025 Headline inflation rate.”
The NBS noted that the percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending January 2026 over the previous twelve-month average was 21.97 per cent, representing a 4.37 percentage point increase compared to the 17.59 per cent recorded in January 2025.
A breakdown of the figures showed that urban inflation stood at 15.36 per cent year-on-year in January 2026, significantly lower than the 29.45 per cent recorded in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation dropped by 2.72 per cent, compared to 0.99 per cent in December, with the corresponding twelve-month average for urban inflation reaching 22.30 per cent.
The report further disclosed that rural inflation was 14.44 per cent on a year-on-year basis in January 2026, down from 25.04 per cent recorded in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, rural inflation fell by 3.29 per cent compared to -0.55 per cent in December. The twelve-month average for rural inflation stood at 21.03 percent.
The report also noted that on a year-on-year basis, food inflation slowed down to 8.89 per cent in January 2026, which was 20.73 percentage points lower than the 29.63 per cent recorded in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation declined by 6.02 per cent in January compared to -0.36 per cent recorded in December 2025.
The NBS attributed the decline to reductions in the prices of items such as water yam, eggs, green peas, groundnut oil, soya beans, palm oil, maize grains, guinea corn, beans, beef, and cassava.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending January 2026 was 20.29 per cent, down from 38.47 per cent recorded in January 2025.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 17.72 percent year-on-year in January 2026, compared to 25.27 per cent in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation fell by 1.69 per cent compared to 0.58 per cent in December 2025.
The twelve-month average core inflation rate was 22.84 per cent, lower than the 27.24 per cent recorded in January 2025.
According to the NBS, Benue State recorded the highest year-on-year all-items inflation rate at 22.48 per cent, followed by Kogi State at 20.98 per cent, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at 19.25 per cent.
On the other hand, Ebonyi, Katsina and Imo states recorded the lowest year-on-year headline inflation rates at 8.72 per cent, 8.94 per cent, and 10.61 per cent, respectively.
