Although Nigeria’s national headline inflation rate showed a slight decrease in June 2026, severe financial strain continues to afflict households in more than half of the nation’s states.
Annual inflation rates surpassed 30 percent in 19 states alongside the Federal Capital Territory.
Data from the Consumer Price Index published by the National Bureau of Statistics reveals that headline inflation eased marginally to 15.91 percent in June, down from 15.93 percent recorded in May.
However, a regional breakdown indicates that 20 out of Nigeria’s 37 sub-national divisions, comprising 54.1 percent of the states and the FCT, faced annual all-items inflation rates higher than 30 percent throughout the period analyzed.
This reveals a major disparity between national metrics and everyday living conditions.
Even Imo, which registered the lowest state-level annual inflation at 19.47 percent, stood 3.56 percentage points above the national average.
According to statistics from the NBS, Niger State logged the highest annual headline inflation rate in June at 42.23 percent. Kogi followed at 41.59 percent, while the Federal Capital Territory registered 39.91 percent.
The NBS stated, “In June 2026, the All-Items inflation rate on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Niger (42.23 per cent), Kogi (41.59 per cent), and Abuja (39.91 per cent), while Imo (19.47 per cent), Ebonyi (20.79 per cent) and Katsina (21.87 per cent) recorded the lowest rise in Headline inflation on a Year-on-Year basis.”
Additional states registering inflation above 30 percent include:
Kwara (36.52 percent)
Plateau (35.82 percent)
Sokoto (35.22 percent)
Benue (35.06 percent)
Osun (34.46 percent)
Yobe (34.40 percent)
Kebbi (34.07 percent)
Enugu (34.00 percent)
Bauchi (33.68 percent)
Gombe (33.51 percent)
Oyo (32.81 percent)
Lagos (32.28 percent)
Akwa Ibom (31.85 percent)
Adamawa (31.82 percent)
Ekiti (31.00 percent)
Taraba (30.54 percent)
Abia (30.28 percent)
The remaining 17 states posted inflation below 30 percent. Imo registered the lowest figure at 19.47 percent, followed by Ebonyi at 20.79 percent and Katsina at 21.87 percent.
Other states below 30 percent include Rivers (23.73 percent), Zamfara (24.00 percent), Kaduna (24.71 percent), Edo (25.90 percent), Cross River (25.91 percent), Delta (26.31 percent), Borno (26.62 percent), Kano (26.80 percent), Anambra (27.37 percent), Ondo (28.14 percent), Ogun (28.18 percent), Jigawa (29.06 percent), Nasarawa (29.11 percent), and Bayelsa (29.66 percent).
The statistical agency emphasized that state-level metrics should not be treated as direct price comparisons, pointing out that spending patterns, household behaviors, and product weightings differ across regions.
Food inflation remained significantly elevated, with many regions posting rates far above national figures. Kogi topped the annual food inflation chart at 53.02 percent, followed by Niger at 43.83 percent and Benue at 40.83 percent.
The Federal Capital Territory reported food inflation at 40.20 percent, Adamawa at 39.61 percent, Osun at 39.56 percent, Kwara at 39.00 percent, Kebbi at 37.59 percent, Sokoto at 37.01 percent, Plateau at 36.84 percent, and Yobe at 36.68 percent.
Other states exceeding 30 percent food inflation included Enugu (35.24 percent), Gombe (34.43 percent), Kaduna (34.41 percent), Bayelsa (34.03 percent), Jigawa (33.92 percent), Ekiti (33.04 percent), Akwa Ibom (32.93 percent), Edo (32.66 percent), Bauchi (31.54 percent), Zamfara (30.84 percent), Delta (30.66 percent), Nasarawa (30.48 percent), Cross River (30.39 percent), and Oyo (30.17 percent).
Conversely, Katsina posted the lowest annual food inflation rate at 19.15 percent, followed by Rivers at 23.81 percent and Imo at 24.60 percent.
Nationally, food inflation reached 17.52 percent year-on-year in June, down from 25.41 percent in June 2025. On a month-on-month basis, however, food inflation sped up to 3.75 percent from 2.98 percent in May.
The NBS cited price increases for essential items such as crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, dried green peas, yam flour, water yam, beef, banana, cassava flour, cowpea, garri, Irish potatoes, and yam tubers.
Monthly inflation figures varied significantly across regions. Niger logged the highest month-on-month headline increase at 11.65 percent, followed by Katsina at 8.13 percent and Kwara at 7.52 percent.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa experienced the largest monthly contraction at -6.48 percent, followed by Benue at -5.58 percent and Cross River at -5.12 percent.
For food inflation on a monthly basis, Katsina saw the highest rise at 16.82 percent, while Borno recorded the steepest drop at -3.54 percent.
Despite the marginal easing in national headline inflation, economic analysts warn that food cost increases remain the central crisis for citizens.
Dr Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, noted that the report reflects overall headline stabilization alongside renewed food price pressures.
He highlighted that headline inflation drifted down from 15.93 percent in May to 15.91 percent in June, whereas food inflation gained momentum.
“The dominant concern in the report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
Year-on-year food inflation increased from 17.43 per cent to 17.52 per cent, while month-on-month food inflation rose sharply from 2.98 per cent to 3.75 per cent, the strongest monthly increase in several months. This suggests that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation,” he said.
Yusuf emphasized that food inflation continues to be the main driver of the cost-of-living crisis, weakening purchasing power, worsening food insecurity, and eroding the benefits of broader economic reforms.
He added that inflationary pressures are primarily structural rather than monetary, pointing to security issues, transport costs, logistics bottlenecks, energy costs, fertilizer prices, supply chain disruptions, and imported inflation.
Yusuf concluded that the figures do not justify further monetary policy tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Instead, he urged targeted structural interventions to increase food production, enhance logistics, lower production costs, expand domestic refining capabilities, and boost overall productivity.
