By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped marginally to 15.39 percent in August 2026, from 15.43 percent in July, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“Headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.04% compared to the July 2026 headline inflation rate.
“On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2026 was 0.71%, which was 0.86% lower than the rate recorded in July 2026 (1.57%).
“This means that in August 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in July 2026,” the NBS report, published on Wednesday, September 16, read.
The NBS said the food inflation rate in August 2026 was 19.57 percent on a year-on-year basis.
The bureau also said the food inflation rate is lower compared to the 25.30 percent recorded in the same month of the preceding year.
“However, on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in August 2026 was 1.02%, down by 4.55 percentage points from July 2026 (5.56%).
“This shows that the average prices of food items are increasing at a decreasing rate in August 2026,” the NBS stated.
According to the bureau, the decline in the rate can be attributed mainly to changes in the average prices of palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon (egusi), fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken, turkey meat, yam flour, among others.
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Despite the national moderation in the inflation rate, inflationary pressures remained heightened across several states.
In this article, Impact Nigeria Newspaper ranks the top 10 states in Nigeria with the highest inflation rate in August 2026.
1. Lagos (23.7%)
Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos State, recorded the highest headline inflation rate in Nigeria in August 2026 at 23.7 percent.
The rate rose by 7.4 percent month-on-month from the 16.3 percent recorded in July 2026.
Food inflation in the state also accelerated to 30.9 percent from 26.8 percent in July.
2. Zamfara (22.6%)
Zamfara State ranked second on the list of top 10 states in Nigeria with the highest rate of inflation in August 2026.
It recorded a headline inflation rate of 22.6 percent in August, a 2.8 percentage point increase from the 19.8 percent recorded in July.
Food inflation remained elevated at 38.0 percent in August from 30.7 percent in July, representing a 7.3 percentage-point increase.
3. Enugu (22.1%)
In August 2026, Enugu State recorded an inflation rate of 22.1 percent, emerging third on the list of top 10 states with the highest rate of inflation in the month.
The August figures represented an 8.3 percentage point increase from the 13.8 percent recorded in July.
However, the food inflation rate in the state moderated to 15.3 percent, a decline from the 20.8 percent seen in July.
4. Delta (19.6%)
Delta State recorded headline inflation of 19.6 percent in August 2026, a decline from 22.6 percent recorded in July.
The 3.0 percentage-point decline made the state rank fourth on the list of top 10 states with the highest rate of inflation in August 2026.
Food inflation also fell to 21.2 percent, from 28.1 percent in July.
5. Adamawa (19.4%)
In the month under review, Adamawa State recorded headline inflation of 19.4 percent, a sharp decline from 33.0 percent in July, representing a 13.6 percentage-point decline.
Food inflation also decelerated from 51.4 percent in July to 38.9 in August. However, the rate remained one of the highest among states in Nigeria.
6. Rivers (19.1%)
Nigeria’s oil-rich state, Rivers, ranked sixth among the top 10 states with the highest rate of inflation August 2026.
The South-South state recorded a headline inflation rate of 19.1 percent in August from 14.0 percent in July, an increase of 5.1 percentage points.
Food inflation also increased to 28.4 percent from the 22.2 percent recorded in July.
7. Akwa Ibom (18.6%)
In August 2026, Akwa Ibom, the second South-South state on the list of top 10 states in Nigeria with the highest rate of inflation, recorded headline inflation of 18.6 percent.
The figures represented a 1.3 percentage points decrease from the 19.9 percent recorded in July.
Food inflation rate in the state also declined sharply to 9.6 percent from 17.1 percent in July, one of the lowest food inflation rates among the 10 states with the highest overall inflation in August.
8. Anambra (16.0%)
Eighth on the list of top 10 states in Nigeria with the highest rate of inflation in August 2026 is Anambra State.
The state recorded an annual inflation of 16.0 percent in August 2026, a significant decline from the 24.0 percent recorded in July, representing an 8.0 percentage-point decline.
Food inflation in the state fell to 11.2 percent from 16.8 percent in July.
9. Osun (16.0%)
Osun State recorded headline inflation of 16.0 percent in August 2026, a 5.4 percent increase from the 10.6 percent recorded in July.
The food inflation rate in the state also rose sharply to 23.8 percent from 12.9 percent in July.
10. Ondo (15.1%)
Completing the list of the top 10 states with the highest rate of inflation in August 2026 is Ondo State, situated in Nigeria’s South-West region.
The Sunshine State recorded a headline inflation of 15.1 percent in August, representing a 2.2 percentage-point decline from the 17.3 percent recorded in July.
Food inflation in the state also dropped sharply to 15.8 percent from 26.0 percent in July.
