Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.10% in January 2026, down from 15.15% recorded in December 2025, as food prices posted a significant monthly decline.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, the CPI fell to 127.4 in January from 131.2 in December, reflecting a 3.8-point decline.
On a year-on-year basis, headline inflation slowed by 12.51 percentage points from 27.61% in January 2025 to 15.10% in January 2026.
On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate stood at -2.88% in January, compared to 0.54% in December, indicating that average prices declined during the month.
However, the twelve-month average inflation rate rose to 21.97% in January 2026, compared to 17.59% in January 2025, highlighting that price pressures remain elevated when assessed over a longer horizon.
Food inflation recorded one of the sharpest declines in the report. On a year-on-year basis, food inflation slowed to 8.89% in January 2026 from 29.63% in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food prices dropped by -6.02% in January, compared to -0.36% in December. The bureau attributed the decline to reductions in the prices of water yam, eggs, green peas, groundnut oil, soya beans, palm oil, maize, guinea corn, beans, beef, melon and cassava.
The twelve-month average food inflation rate stood at 20.29%, significantly lower than the 38.47% recorded in January 2025.
The NBS report shows that subnational inflation pressures remain intense in January 2026, despite a month-on-month moderation across most of the high-cost states.
Below are the top 10 most expensive states to live in Nigeria in January 2026, according to the latest CPI data from the NBS:
Benue emerged as the most expensive state among the top 10, with an all-items index of 128.5 in January 2026 and the highest annual inflation rate at 22.5%. Month-on-month inflation declined 1.9%.
Food inflation rose 18.4% year on year and fell 4.7% month on month. The strong annual rise in food prices confirms that food inflation is the primary driver of overall inflation in the state.
Despite being widely regarded as Nigeria’s “food basket,” Benue has faced persistent farmer-herder conflicts and supply disruptions, which have constrained output and pushed prices upward.
