Inflation Drops to 15.39% in August 2026 as Food Prices Drop
by Dave Ibemere, https://www.facebook.com/legitngnews · Legit.ng News · Join- Nigeria's headline inflation fell year-on-year in August 2026, with the NBS report showing a significant drop compared to the same period in 2025
- Month-on-month food inflation recorded a sharp decline of over 4 percentage points, driven by price changes across several food items
- Wide gaps in inflation rates emerged across Nigerian states, with some recording negative food inflation while others remained well above the national average
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Nigeria's headline inflation rate dipped to 15.39% year-on-year in August 2026, down from 15.43% in July, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figure is also considerably lower than the 23.14% recorded in August 2025, pointing to a sustained easing in the pace of annual price growth.
The CPI, which tracks how much households pay for goods and services, climbed to 146.3 points in August from 145.3 points in July.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 0.71% in August, down from 1.57% in July, meaning prices rose at a noticeably slower pace during the month.
Food inflation slows
Food inflation stood at 19.57% year-on-year in August, down sharply from 25.30% recorded in the same month of 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation fell to 1.02% in August from 5.56% in July, a decline of 4.55 percentage points.
The NBS attributed the slowdown mainly to changes in the average prices of several food items, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon, fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey meat.
The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending August 2026 stood at 15.70%, compared with 29.86% recorded in August 2025.
States with the highest and lowest inflation
The latest NBS report showed wide differences in inflation rates across Nigerian states.
States with the highest headline inflation (year-on-year):
- Lagos – 23.68%
- Zamfara – 22.56%
- Enugu – 22.06%
States with the lowest headline inflation (year-on-year):
- Sokoto – 2.11%
- Kebbi – 3.72%
- Jigawa – 3.81%
On a month-on-month basis, Rivers recorded the highest headline inflation at 6.92%, followed by Osun at 5.61% and Kano at 5.59%.
Anambra recorded the lowest monthly inflation at -8.83%, followed by Bauchi at -7.13% and Borno at -7.09%.
States with highest and lowest food inflation
Food inflation remained particularly high in some states despite the national slowdown.
States with the highest food inflation (year-on-year):
- Adamawa – 38.85%
- Zamfara – 37.96%
- Bayelsa – 36.20%
States with the lowest food inflation (year-on-year):
- Borno – -4.04%
- Jigawa – -0.23%
- Kebbi – 3.47%
On a month-on-month basis, Katsina recorded the highest food inflation at 9.48%, followed by Rivers at 8.86% and Osun at 8.32%.
Taraba recorded the lowest monthly food inflation at -12.42%, followed by Borno at -12.15% and Bauchi at -8.88%.
Nigeria releases list of food and drinks banned from importation
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigeria Customs Service had provided an updated list of food products that are prohibited from being brought into Nigeria in 2026.
Customs officials may seize the restricted goods when they are intercepted at Nigerian airports, land borders or seaports.
The prohibited items span various categories, including animal products, processed foods, drinks and packaged food products. Frozen poultry and other live or dead birds are among the products affected by the import restrictions.