Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, reflecting a slight decline from 15.1 per cent recorded in January, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) noted.

The data showed that the inflation rate fell by 0.04 percentage points month-on-month, signalling a modest slowdown in the pace of price increase across the economy.

The CPI, which measures the average change in the prices of goods and services consumed by households, rose to 130 in February, representing a 2.6 point increase from 127.4 recorded in January.

On a year-on-year basis, inflation declined significantly when compared with 26.27 per cent recorded in February 2025. It was an 11.21 percentage point drop over the period.

The month-on-month headline inflation rate increased to 2.01 per cent in February, higher than the -2.88 per cent recorded in January, suggesting that inflation intensity is strengthening and would require fresh policy intervention.

The report showed signs of renewed pressure in the cost of food items. According to the NBS, food inflation stood at 12.12 per cent year-on-year in February, lower than the 26.98 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

But on a month-on-month basis, food inflation surged to 4.69 per cent, a steep rise from -6.02 per cent recorded in January.

The rise reflected a sharp increase in the prices of items such as beans, cassava tuber, crayfish, millet flour, yam flour and cowpeas.

The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending February 2026 stood at 19.08 per cent, lower than the 37.4 per cent recorded in February 2025.

The report shows that food is now becoming more expensive in states hitherto described as food baskets of the country.

According to the report, in February 2026, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi, where it was 26.91 per cent, Adamawa (23.12 per cent) and Benue (21.89 per cent).

On a month-on-Month basis, February 2026 Food inflation was highest in Bayelsa at 8.81 per cent, Ebonyi (8.51 per cent) and Edo (7.72 per cent).

Benue, Kogi, Adamawa, Ebonyi and Edo are states noted for their high agricultural productivity and notable for producing rice, cassava, yams, oil palm, maize, groundnuts and wheat.

However, the volume of production of the food items has shrunk over the years, given the level of insecurity in the states, especially Adamawa, Benue, Ebonyi and Kogi.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), during its February Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, lowered the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 27 per cent to 26.5 per cent following the 11-month streak of easing inflation.

It followed a previous cut in September 2025 to 27 per cent, marking a trend of easing in response to sustained disinflation.

President of Nigerian Agribusiness Group (NABG), Kabir Ibrahim, in an interview, said the high cost of transportation and insecurity are to blame for the high food prices.

He called on the three tiers of government to subsidise agriculture, insisting that the federal government alone cannot do it, as part of efforts to ensure a sustainable food supply at affordable prices.