Nigerians spent more on food in the month of May as the month-on-month food inflation rose to 2.19% in May 2025, up from 2.06% in April, underscoring ongoing pressure on household budgets despite a second consecutive decline in the overall inflation rate.
The continued rise in food inflation, despite a slowing overall inflation rate, points to an uneven economic recovery. Challenges like supply chain disruptions, agricultural insecurity, and currency volatility remain unresolved, intensifying pressure on households and demanding urgent policy intervention.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the headline inflation rate fell to 22.97% in May, down 0.74 percentage points from 23.71% in April. Year-on-year, this represents a sharp drop of 10.98 percentage points from 33.95% in May 2024, influenced in part by a base year shift to November 2009.
The CPI rose to 121.35 in May, up by 1.83 points from April, reflecting a mixed economic landscape. While the headline inflation rate showed signs of cooling, food prices remained a key challenge.
The month-on-month headline inflation eased to 1.53%, compared to 1.86% in April, indicating a slower pace of overall price increases. The 12-month average inflation rate also fell to 27.55%, down from 29.06% in May 2024.
Food inflation, however, remains a significant concern. The 2.19% monthly rise was driven by sustained high prices in staples such as yam, ogbono, cassava, maize flour, fresh pepper, and sweet potatoes. On a year-on-year basis, food inflation dropped sharply to 21.14% from 40.66% in May 2024, a 19.52 percentage point decline due largely to the base year revision. The 12-month average food inflation stood at 29.80%, down from 34.06% a year earlier.
Core inflation—which excludes volatile items like food and energy—fell to 22.28% year-on-year in May, down from 27.04% in 2024. Its month-on-month rate also decreased to 1.10%, from 1.34% in April. The 12-month average core inflation rose slightly to 24.51%, compared to 23.45% the previous year.
Urban inflation declined to 23.14% year-on-year from 36.34%, though its monthly rate rose to 1.40%, up from 1.18% in April. The 12-month average for urban inflation dropped to 29.30%, from 31.07% in May 2024.
Rural inflation also fell year-on-year to 22.70%, down from 31.82%, with its monthly rate decreasing sharply to 1.83%, from 3.56% in April. The 12-month average rural inflation declined to 25.56%, compared to 27.27% last year.
Inflation by State
State-level inflation showed wide disparities:
• Highest year-on-year headline inflation: Borno (38.93%), Niger (34.97%), Plateau (32.35%)
• Lowest: Katsina (16.25%), Adamawa (18.20%), Delta (18.41%)
Month-on-month increases were led by Bayelsa (9.11%), Bauchi (4.85%), and Borno (4.42%), while Kaduna (-6.75%), Jigawa (-4.40%), and Edo (-2.94%) saw declines.
Food inflation was highest in Borno (64.36%), Bayelsa (39.85%), and Taraba (38.58%) year-on-year. The lowest were Katsina (6.90%), Rivers (9.18%), and Kwara (11.31%).
Monthly food inflation rose most in Bayelsa (12.68%), Cross River (11.15%), and Anambra (9.10%), while it declined in Katsina (-5.42%), Jigawa (-4.02%), and Kaduna (-3.27%).
The NBS cautioned that state-level CPI weights vary due to differences in consumption patterns, making direct state-to-state comparisons misleading. The recent base year update—applicable in most states except Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, and the FCT—affected year-on-year figures but not the national CPI for April.
