Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped to 18.02 per cent in September 2025, representing a significant 2.1 percentage point decrease from the 20.12 per cent recorded in August 2025.
This is according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday. Data from the report indicate that the country has now recorded six consecutive months of declining inflation since April 2025.
The decline comes after a series of statistical adjustments earlier this year, including a change in the base year and a reweighting of items in the consumer price basket. Inflation had previously peaked at nearly 35 per cent in December 2024.
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On a year-on-year basis, the September 2025 headline inflation rate was 14.68 percentage points lower than the 32.70 per cent recorded in September 2024, while headline inflation stood at 0.72 per cent in September, slightly lower than the 0.74 per cent recorded in August 2025, when compared on on a monthly basis.
Food Inflation Continues To Ease
Food inflation, which accounts for the largest share of household spending, eased to 16.87 per cent in September from 21.87 per cent in August, reflecting improved supply conditions and the impact of seasonal harvests.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at -1.57 per cent in September, down by 3.22% compared to 1.65% reported in August 2025. The decline can be attributed to the rate of reducion in the average prices items such as maize, grains, garri, beans, millet, potatoes, onions, eggs, tomatoes, and fresh pepper.
Central Bank Maintains Disinflation Focus
The latest figures follow a monetary policy shift by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which in September cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2020.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said the bank remains committed to a data-driven approach to monetary policy and is targeting single-digit inflation over the medium term.
Urban and Rural Inflation Trends
In urban areas, the year-on-year inflation rate stood at 17.50 per cent in September 2025, compared to 35.13 per cent in the same month of 2024. This reflects a 17.63 percentage point decline.
However, on a month-on-month basis, urban inflation rose slightly to 0.74 per cent in September, up from 0.49 per cent in August.
The twelve-month average for urban inflation stood at 24.35 per cent in September 2025, down from 33.95 per cent in the same period last year.
In rural areas, inflation stood at 18.26 per cent year-on-year in September 2025, a 12.23 percentage point drop from 30.49 per cent in September 2024. On a month-on-month basis, rurRal inflation was 0.67 per cent, lower than the 1.38 per cent recorded in August 2025.
The twelve-month average rural inflation rate was 22.08 per cent, compared to 29.76 per cent in September 2024.