Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s relentless inflationary pressures showed signs of easing in April 2025, as the headline inflation rate retreated to 23.71 percent. This marks a 0.52 percentage point decline from the 24.23 percent recorded in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS data also offered some respite on the food front, with the food inflation index dropping 0.53 percentage points to 21.26 percent in April, down from 21.79 percent in the preceding month. The statistical agency attributed this deceleration in food price increases to a reduction in the average costs of several staple food items, including maize (corn) flour, wheat grain, dried okro, yam flour, soya beans, rice, bambara beans, and brown beans.
“The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 119.52 in April 2025, reflecting a 2.18-point increase from the preceding month,” the NBS report detailed, indicating noting that while prices continued to rise overall, the pace of increase had moderated.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate showed a substantial decrease, standing at 9.99 percentage points lower than the 33.69 percent recorded in April 2024.
“This indicates a significant decrease compared to the same month in the preceding year, though with a different base year of November 2009 = 100,” the NBS clarified, a change in methodology that analysts caution requires careful interpretation of historical comparisons.
The year-on-year food inflation rate stood at 21.26 percent in April 2025, marking a notable 19.27 percentage point reduction compared to the 40.53 percent recorded in April 2024. The NBS again attributed this sharp decline to the change in the base year used for its calculations.
Examining month-on-month trends, food inflation was recorded at 2.06 percent in April 2025, a marginal 0.12 percentage point decrease from the 2.18 percent registered in March 2025. “The decrease can be attributed to the reduction in the average prices of key food items like Maize Flour, Wheat Grain, Okro Dried, Yam Flour, Soya Beans, Rice, Bambara Beans, and Brown Beans,” the report stated.
