The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 percent in May 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly increase this year.

The figure was contained in the bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released yesterday.

According to the NBS, inflation increased on a year-on-year basis from 15.69 per cent recorded in April 2026, though it remains lower than the 26.06 percent recorded in May 2025.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate rose to 15.93per cent, up from 15.69per cent in April 2026 and down from 26.06per cent in the same month of the preceding year (May 2025),” the bureau stated.

The report noted that on a month-on-month basis, inflation eased slightly to 1.75 percent in May, compared to 2.13 percent in April, indicating a slower pace of price increases.

The NBS also said food inflation rose to 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May 2026, up from 16.68 percent in April 2026. However, this remains lower than the 24.55 percent recorded in May 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation slowed to 2.98 percent in May, down from 3.63 percent in April.

The bureau attributed the movement in food prices to changes in the average prices of items such as onions, maize grains, melon, water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tuber, yam tuber, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain, cowpea, among others.

According to the report, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Adamawa (29.62per cent), Kwara (28.47per cent), and Rivers (28.40per cent).

The lowest rates were recorded in Borno (-6.53per cent), Taraba (1.13per cent), and Bayelsa (5.99per cent).

On a month-on-month basis, Bauchi (7.73per cent), Ogun (6.86per cent), and Jigawa (6.69per cent) recorded the highest increases, while Niger (3.54per cent), Katsina (-3.48per cent), and Gombe (-2.22per cent) recorded the slowest movement in food inflation.

Transport and logistics costs also accounted for more than one tenth of the inflation figure highlighting the persistent impact of rising haulage and mobility expenses on consumer prices.

CPI report showed that the transport sector contributed 1.70 percentage points to the country’s headline inflation rate of 15.93 per cent.

This means transport related costs were responsible for about 10.7 per cent of Nigeria’s annual inflation in May, making transport the third largest contributor to price pressures after food and non-alcoholic beverages and restaurants and accommodation services.

The NBS report indicated that food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 6.38 percentage points to headline inflation, while restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels accounted for 1.34 percentage points.

Headline inflation rose slightly to 15.93 per cent in May from 15.69 per cent recorded in April, although the pace of monthly price increases slowed.

On a month on month basis, inflation eased to 1.75 per cent in May from 2.13 per cent in April. Within the monthly inflation figure, transport contributed 0.19 percentage points, accounting for nearly 11 per cent of the month’s price increase.