19 states, FCT record inflation above 30% despite national decline

Despite a slight decline in Nigeria’s headline inflation rate in June 2026, 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) continued to record annual inflation rates above 30 per cent, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS reported that the country’s headline inflation eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June from 15.93 per cent recorded in May. However, state-by-state data showed that more than half of Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT still faced significantly higher inflationary pressures.

Niger State recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 42.23 per cent, followed by Kogi at 41.59 per cent and the FCT at 39.91 per cent.

Other states with inflation above 30 per cent include Kwara (36.52%), Plateau (35.82%), Sokoto (35.22%), Benue (35.06%), Osun (34.46%), Yobe (34.40%), Kebbi (34.07%), Enugu (34.00%), Bauchi (33.68%), Gombe (33.51%), Oyo (32.81%), Lagos (32.28%), Akwa Ibom (31.85%), Adamawa (31.82%), Ekiti (31.00%), Taraba (30.54%) and Abia (30.28%).

By contrast, Imo posted the lowest annual inflation rate at 19.47 per cent, followed by Ebonyi (20.79%) and Katsina (21.87%).

The NBS noted that state inflation figures should not be used for direct price comparisons because consumer spending patterns and the weighting of goods and services vary across states.

Food inflation also remained elevated in many parts of the country. Kogi recorded the highest annual food inflation at 53.02 per cent, followed by Niger (43.83%) and Benue (40.83%).

The FCT recorded food inflation of 40.20 per cent, while Adamawa, Osun, Kwara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Plateau, Yobe, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Bauchi, Zamfara, Delta, Nasarawa, Cross River and Oyo all posted food inflation above 30 per cent.

Katsina recorded the lowest annual food inflation rate at 19.15 per cent, followed by Rivers (23.81%) and Imo (24.60%).

Nationally, food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June, up slightly from 17.43 per cent in May. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 3.75 per cent from 2.98 per cent, driven by increases in the prices of tomatoes, fresh pepper, beef, yam products, garri, cowpea, crayfish and other staple foods.

The report also showed varying monthly inflation movements across states. Niger recorded the highest month-on-month headline inflation at 11.65 per cent, followed by Katsina (8.13%), Kwara (7.52%), Gombe (7.09%), Kebbi (6.99%), Plateau (6.53%) and Lagos (6.37%).

Meanwhile, Bayelsa recorded the sharpest monthly decline in headline inflation at -6.48 per cent, followed by Benue (-5.58%), Cross River (-5.12%), Borno (-4.37%) and Anambra (-4.17%).

Commenting on the figures, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, said the report suggested headline inflation was stabilising but warned that rising food prices remained a major concern.

He said food inflation continued to drive the country’s cost-of-living crisis, eroding household purchasing power and worsening poverty.

According to Yusuf, the persistent inflationary pressure is largely driven by structural factors, including insecurity, high transportation and energy costs, expensive fertiliser, supply chain disruptions and imported inflation.

He argued that the latest figures do not justify further monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria, urging the government to focus instead on structural reforms that would boost food production, improve logistics, lower production costs and strengthen domestic refining and productivity.