Nigeria inflation rate climbed to 15.69% in April 2026 as food, transport and energy costs continued to pressure consumers

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 15.69 per cent in April 2026 from 15.38 per cent recorded in March, as rising food, transport, hospitality and healthcare costs continued to push consumer prices upward across the country.

Also read: Nigeria inflation drops to 15.06% amid rising costs

The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed the figures in its Consumer Price Index report released on Friday.

According to the bureau, the April increase represented a 0.31 percentage point rise compared to March, although the pace of monthly price growth slowed during the period.

“In April 2026, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.69 per cent, up from 15.38 per cent in March 2026,” the report stated.

The Nigeria inflation rate remained significantly below the 26.82 per cent recorded in April 2025, reflecting moderating annual price pressures despite persistent increases in key consumer sectors.

The NBS said the Consumer Price Index rose to 138.3 in April from 135.4 recorded in March, representing a 2.9-point increase.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation eased to 2.13 per cent in April, lower than the 4.18 per cent recorded in March.

“This means that in April 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2026,” the bureau explained.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributors to inflation, accounting for 6.40 percentage points of the overall rate.

Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 3.56 percentage points, while transport accounted for 1.70 percentage points. Health costs added 1.21 percentage points to the inflation figure.

Other major contributors included housing, electricity and gas, education services, clothing, communication services and personal care expenses.

The report showed that food inflation rose to 16.06 per cent year-on-year in April 2026, although monthly food inflation slowed slightly to 3.63 per cent from 4.17 per cent in March.

The bureau attributed the sustained rise in food prices to increases in staple commodities such as millet, yam flour, fresh ginger, beef, garri, beans, tomatoes, wheat grain, soybeans and plantain.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.86 per cent year-on-year in April, while monthly core inflation slowed sharply to 1.03 per cent from 4.03 per cent in March.

The Nigeria inflation rate also reflected widening regional disparities across states.

Sokoto recorded the highest year-on-year all-items inflation at 25.74 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 22.52 per cent and Zamfara at 22.03 per cent.

Edo recorded the slowest rise at 5.91 per cent, while Borno and Jigawa posted 6.72 per cent and 7.04 per cent respectively.

For food inflation, Enugu recorded the highest annual increase at 32.67 per cent, followed by Kwara at 30.77 per cent and Adamawa at 30.14 per cent.

The report further showed that energy inflation recorded 4.6 per cent annual growth and eight per cent month-on-month growth, while services inflation stood at 16.7 per cent year-on-year.

The Financial Market Dealers Association had projected that inflation would rise to 16.42 per cent in April due to persistent food and energy pressures.

However, the latest figures from the NBS showed the actual Nigeria inflation rate settled slightly below the projection, offering modest relief despite continued pressure on household purchasing power.

Also read: Nigeria inflation eases further to 14.45% in November — NBS

Economic analysts say the latest data underscores the fragile balance between slowing monthly inflation and the persistent burden of rising living costs confronting millions of Nigerians.