By Seun Ibiyemi
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 15.93 per cent recorded in May, marking the first slowdown after three consecutive months of increases, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report showed that although overall inflation eased slightly, food prices continued to rise, driven by higher costs of staples including fresh pepper, tomatoes, crayfish, beef, garri and yam.
According to the NBS, the June inflation rate represents a 0.02 percentage-point decline from the previous month and remains significantly lower than the 25.29 per cent recorded in June 2025.
The Consumer Price Index rose by 2.3 points to 143.0 in June, up from 140.7 in May. On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent from 1.75 per cent in May, indicating a moderation in the pace of price increases.
The latest figure ends a four-month upward trend in inflation, which climbed from 15.06 per cent in February to 15.38 per cent in March, 15.69 per cent in April and 15.93 per cent in May.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points.
Other major contributors included restaurants and accommodation services, transport, housing and utilities, education, and healthcare.
The NBS report showed that food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June.
However, month-on-month food inflation accelerated to 3.75 per cent from 2.98 per cent in May.
The bureau attributed the increase in food prices to higher costs of products such as crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, dried green peas, yam flour, water yam, beef, bananas, cassava flour, cowpeas, garri, Irish potatoes and yam tubers.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes agricultural produce and energy prices, eased to 15.92 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The average headline inflation rate for the 12 months ending June 2026 declined to 17.63 per cent, compared to 29.82 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
A breakdown by states showed that Niger State recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 42.23 per cent, followed by Kogi State and the Federal Capital Territory, while Imo State posted the lowest inflation rate.
For food inflation, Kogi recorded the highest rate nationwide, while Katsina reported the lowest.
Reacting to the figures, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Leye Kupoluyi, described the moderation as positive for the economy but said Nigeria still had a long way to go in achieving price stability.
“When inflation goes down, it’s for the benefit of the consumer. The consumer is you and me, every one of us.
Therefore, it is what we all look forward to in any society. When inflation comes to a single unit, or even at less than one per cent, that is what we call stability.
Therefore, if inflation is going down in Nigeria, no doubt, it’s good news for everyone, government, industry, and the consumer,” Kupoluyi said.
He added that recent economic indicators were encouraging and expressed optimism that the trend would continue.
“We are seeing stability in Nigeria, and what is coming out in terms of figures and statistics is encouraging. We are looking forward to it,” the LCCI president remarked.
Also commenting, the President of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Dr Femi Egbesola, attributed the slight decline in inflation largely to seasonal factors, lower energy costs, and manufacturers’ increased use of locally sourced raw materials.
“I think food and agriculture have been one of the major drivers of inflation, and this time we are in the rainy season, where we have more food, which means more supply than demand and naturally drives down prices.
READ ALSO:Inflation rate rises to 15.93% in May- NBS
Energy costs have also come down marginally, while many manufacturing companies are beginning to reap the fruits of backward integration by replacing imported inputs with locally produced raw materials,” Egbesola said.
However, the ASBON chief cautioned that the current trend might not be sustainable if it were driven mainly by seasonal conditions
“My concern is whether the government will be able to sustain this. If the reason for the drop in inflation is not strategic but seasonal or based on unstructured indices, then it will not be sustainable.
The government should be thinking about how to sustain this by supporting agriculture all year round, improving irrigation, and ensuring stable electricity beyond the rainy season,” Egbesola said.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Eke Ubiji, disagreed with suggestions that prices were stabilising, insisting that inflation remained high despite the marginal decline.
“Things are not stabilising. Inflation remains very high. We use market intelligence to know what is happening, not theories. People who go to buy things will tell you the truth.
Food is even the first casualty. People have been complaining since the beginning of the year, and this is already the seventh month. If there was any real stabilisation, you would have seen it by now,” Ubiji said.
According to the NBS, food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June, while month-on-month food inflation accelerated to 3.75 per cent from 2.98 per cent in May due to higher prices of fresh pepper, tomatoes, crayfish, beef, garri, yams, and other staple food items.
