.As CPPE tasks FG on checking costs of food, transportation
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.38 per cent in March 2026.
The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index, CPI, and Inflation Report for March 2026, released in Abuja on Wednesday.
The report stated that the March headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.32 per cent compared to the February 2026 headline inflation rate of 15.06 per cent.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate for March 2026 stood at 15.38 per cent, when compared to the 15.06 per cent and 27.35 per cent recorded in February 2026 and March 2025, respectively.”
Furthermore, the report said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March 2026 was 4.18 per cent, which was 2.17 per cent higher than the rate recorded in February 2026 at 2.01 per cent.
“This means that in March 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2026.”
It said that the three major contributors to the headline inflation year- on- year were food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5. 55 per cent, restaurants and accommodation services at 3.26 per cent, and transport at 1.80 per cent.
The report said that the least contributors were recreation, sports, and culture at 0.00per cent, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics at 0.02 per cent, and insurance and financial services at 0.02 per cent.
It said that the CPI increased to 135.4 in March 2026, and reflected a 5.4-point increase from the 130.0 recorded in February.
The report said the food inflation rate in March 2026 was 14.31 per cent on a year-on-year basis, compared to the rate recorded in March 2025 at 25.22 per cent.
It said that on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in March 2026 was 4.17 per cent, which decreased by 0.52 per cent compared to the 4.69 per cent recorded in February.
The NBS attributed the decrease in food inflation on a month-on-month basis to the rate of change in the average prices of yams, ginger (fresh), cassava tuber, and groundnuts (shelled).
“Others are Irish potato, and ogbono/apon (dried ungrinded), tomatoes,(fresh), cassava flour sold loose, among others.”
The report said, “All items less farm produces and energy” or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 16.21 per cent in March, on a year-on-year basis.
This shows a decline of 10.91 percentage points when compared to the 25.12 per cent recorded in March 2025.
“On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 4.03 per cent in March, which increased by 3.14 per cent compared to the 0.89 per cent recorded in February.”
The report said that the inflation rate of the sub-indices for March 2026 on a month-on-month basis showed that energy stood at 6.6 per cent, farm produce at 4.6 per cent, services at 2.6 per cent, goods at 5.5 per cent and imported food at 1.1 per cent.
It said that on a year-on-year basis in March 2026, the urban inflation rate was 14.64 per cent.
“On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 3.16 per cent, which increased by 0.61 per cent compared to February at 2.55 per cent.”
The report said that in March 2026, rural inflation rate was 17.22 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
“On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate was 6.73 per cent, which increased by 6.02 per cent compared to February at 0.71 per cent.”
On states’ profile analysis, the report showed that in March, the all-items index inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bayelsa at 27.37 per cent, followed by Sokoto at 26.03 and Bauchi at 23.67 per cent.
It said that the lowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis was recorded in Osun at 5.25 per cent, followed by Kano at 9.85 per cent and Kaduna at 10.38 per cent.
However, the report said that in March 2026, the inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was highest in Zamfara at 10.77 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 9.37 per cent and Sokoto at 9.05 per cent.
“Lagos at 1.54 per cent, followed by Akwa Ibom at 1.80 per cent and Rivers at 1.89 per cent recorded a decline in month-on-month inflation.”
The report said that on a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Bayelsa at 33.35 per cent, followed by Sokoto at 28.02 per cent, and Adamawa at 21.67 per cent.
“Kano at 4.29 per cent, followed by Oyo at 4.86 per cent and Katsina at 7.48 per cent recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.’’
However, it said that on a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Sokoto at 11.78 per cent, followed by Niger at 8.59 per cent, and Gombe at 8.10 per cent.
“Katsina at 0.09 per cent, followed by Ogun at 0.77 per cent and Adamawa at 1.30 per cent, recorded a decline in food inflation on a month-on-month basis.”Source: NAN
.As CPPE tasks FG on checking costs of food, transportation
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged governments to prioritise interventions in food production and transportation to curb inflation.
Dr Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer, CPPE, made the call in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to the March 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country’s headline inflation rose to 15.38 per cent in March up from 15.06 per cent in February.
The month-on-month index increased to 4.18 per cent from 2.01 per cent while CPI rose to 135.4 from 130.0 in the period under review.
Yusuf also cautioned the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) against further tightening of monetary policy, warning that an interest rate hike would be ineffective in addressing the current inflation dynamics.
He said although inflation had shown signs of moderation on a year-on-year basis, recent data indicated a resurgence of cost pressures, particularly on a month-on-month basis.
He attributed the development largely to rising energy costs.
“The implication is higher transport costs, increased food prices and escalating production costs, which are fueling inflationary pressures in the economy,” he said.
The CPPE founder also identified food and transport as the major drivers of inflation, saying that they accounted for a significant share of overall price increases.
He noted that food inflation stood at 14.31 per cent year-on-year, while core inflation rose to 16.21 per cent, with both indicators exerting pressure on household welfare.
Yusuf said the dominance of private operators in the transport sector, coupled with weak regulation, had enabled frequent fare increases and worsening inflation.
He stressed the need for urgent government action to address structural challenges in the economy.
On agriculture, Yusuf called for improved security in farming communities, enhanced rural infrastructure, better access to inputs and financing, and increased adoption of mechanised farming.
He said boosting agricultural productivity remained the most sustainable strategy for moderating food inflation.
On transport, he urged governments to invest in mass transit systems, including bus and rail networks, to reduce reliance on fragmented private transport.
He also called for stronger regulatory frameworks to check arbitrary fare increases and improve efficiency in the sector.
Yusuf emphasised that addressing these supply-side constraints would have a more meaningful impact on inflation than tightening monetary policy.
“The current inflationary pressures are largely cost-push, driven by energy, logistics and structural inefficiencies, not excess demand.
“In this context, raising interest rates will not address the root causes of inflation but will instead stifle investment, constrain the real sector and slow economic growth,” he said.
He urged the MPC to exercise caution and avoid further rate hikes, noting that such measures could undermine recovery efforts and worsen financing conditions for businesses.
Yusuf added that a coordinated policy approach focusing on structural reforms in energy, food and transport was critical to sustaining price stability.
“The March 2026 CPI report highlights a critical development in Nigeria’s inflation trajectory, where the earlier gains in disinflation are now being threatened by a resurgence of cost-driven pressures, particularly from energy, food and transportation.
“This emerging trend suggests that while inflation had been moderating on a year-on-year basis, underlying structural vulnerabilities remain largely unresolved, with recent month-on-month increases pointing to renewed price momentum.
“The situation calls for urgent and targeted policy responses, as failure to address these supply-side drivers could reverse the fragile stability achieved and deepen the cost of living challenges facing households and businesses,” he said.
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