Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined marginally to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, down from 15.1 per cent recorded in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The report showed that the country’s inflation rate dropped by 0.04 percentage points month-on-month, indicating a slight moderation in the rate at which prices of goods and services increased during the period under review.
The CPI, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services consumed by households, provides a key indicator of inflation trends in the economy.
According to the statistics agency, the latest figure also represents a significant improvement compared with the inflation rate recorded during the same period in the previous year.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.21 per cent lower than the rate recorded in February 2025 (26.27 per cent),” the bureau stated in the report.
The NBS explained that the development indicates a considerable decline in inflation compared with the level recorded in February last year.
Despite the slight drop in the annual rate, the report noted that prices continued to rise on a monthly basis.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at 2.01 per cent in February 2026, representing a 4.89 percentage point increase compared with the -2.88 per cent recorded in January 2026.
“This means that in February 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was higher than the rate of increase in January 2026,” the bureau explained.
The report also showed that the average CPI for the twelve months ending February 2026 rose by 21.03 per cent when compared with the average recorded in the previous twelve-month period.
This represents a 3.02 percentage point increase compared with 18.01 per cent recorded in February 2025, indicating that the general cost of living has remained elevated over the past year despite the recent easing in headline inflation.
Economic observers say the marginal decline in inflation could signal gradual progress in efforts to stabilise prices in the economy, although the rise in month-on-month inflation suggests that cost pressures persist in several sectors.
They note that factors such as food supply, energy costs, exchange rate fluctuations and transportation expenses continue to influence inflation dynamics across the country.
The latest data comes as policymakers intensify efforts to strengthen economic stability and reduce the impact of rising prices on households.
Analysts say sustained policy measures aimed at improving agricultural output, stabilising the currency and strengthening supply chains will be crucial to maintaining the downward trend in inflation in the months ahead.