Nigeria’s year-on-year inflation slowed to 18.02 percent in September 2025 from 20.12 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported. The 2.1 percentage points decline is the first meaningful softening in more than one year and comes on the back of the recent rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by the bureau with 2024 as base year and 2023 as the reference period of weights.
The NBS linked the slowdown to slowing price growth in major sectors specifically, food and non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and hotel services, and transport collectively accounting for more than 11 percent of the headline number.
Analysts attribute the dip to higher farm production, exchange rate stability, and better macroeconomic management. Food inflation fell to 16.87 percent year-on-year after dramatic price falls in staple foods such as maize, garri, beans, potatoes, and onions.
Month-on-month inflation was 0.72 percent, down from August’s 0.74 percent, a 0.02 percentage-point deceleration. The rate of core inflation, which doesn’t include volatile items, was at 19.53 percent year-on-year.
Urban inflation was 17.50 percent and rural inflation 18.26 percent. State-level statistics recorded the highest rates of inflation in Adamawa (23.69%), Katsina (23.53%), and Nasarawa (22.29%), and the lowest in Anambra (9.28%), Niger (11.79%), and Bauchi (12.36%).
CPPE CEO Dr. Muda Yusuf explained the improvement as “a welcome development,” but warned the cost of living remained a problem for Nigerians.
He called on the government to continue with macroeconomic reforms and implement policies that bring down the costs of logistics, energy, and production and enhance access to low-cost finance.
In the same vein, economist Dr. Emeka Okengwu further posited that although the downward movement is welcome, it doesn’t necessarily translate to improved standard of living, pointing out that productivity and income growth must precede Nigeria feeling the impact of the reduction in inflation.
