Nigeria’s Inflation Drops to 15% in December 2025 as Food Prices Ease Significantly

Abuja, Nigeria – Nigeria’s inflation rate eased to 15.15% in December 2025, marking a significant slowdown in consumer prices compared with the 17.33% recorded in November and a dramatic drop from 34.8% in December 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported.

The bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, released on Thursday, showed the index rose slightly to 131.2 in December, up 0.7 points from November’s 130.5. On a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed to 0.54%, down from 1.22% in November.

Food Inflation Shows Major Decline

The NBS highlighted that food inflation moderated sharply, falling to 10.84% year-on-year in December 2025 from 39.84% in the same month last year. On a monthly basis, food prices even recorded a slight decline of -0.36% in December compared with a 1.13% rise in November.

Items contributing to the slowdown included tomatoes, garri, eggs, potatoes, carrots, millet, plantains, beans, and onions, among others. Over the twelve months ending December 2025, the average annual food inflation rate stood at 22.0%.

State-level analysis revealed the highest year-on-year food inflation in Yobe (15.25%), Ogun (14.12%), and Abuja (13.24%), while Akwa Ibom (4.34%), Sokoto (4.62%), and Plateau (6.19%) recorded the slowest increases.

Base-Year Adjustment Impacts Figures

Statisticians have cautioned that part of the sharp decline reflects a “base effect” following a rebasing of the CPI reference year. Adeyemi Adeniran, Statistician-General of the Federation, said the adjustments created a temporary distortion in December’s figures.

“The artificial spike is due to the base effect of December 2024, which has been equated to 100 after the rebasing exercise,” Adeniran explained.

The data indicates that while headline inflation remains elevated, the slowdown signals easing pressure on households and could impact monetary policy decisions in the coming months.