Nigeria’s inflation has slowed to its weakest pace since mid-2022 as food costs eased, according to official data, offering a tentative reprieve after months of cost-of-living anger that has dogged President Bola Tinubu’s reform drive.

The headline inflation fell to 18.02% in September, down from 20.12% in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Wednesday.

“The food inflation rate in September 2025 was 16.87% on a year-on-year basis. This was 20.9% points lower compared to the rate recorded in September 2024 (37.77%),” the bureau said.

It cited lower average prices for staples including maize, beans, millet, potatoes, onions, eggs, tomatoes, and fresh pepper, as well as non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and accommodation services, and transport as the biggest contributors to overall inflation.

Last month, the Central Bank of Nigeria cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 27%, the first reduction since 2020, citing the disinflation trend, according to the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee record.

Since taking office in May 2023, the West African country’s leader, Tinubu, has rolled out sweeping economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the currency’s exchange rate, in a bid to restore fiscal balance and attract foreign investment. The measures pushed up transport and staple costs and set off protests over the rising cost of living across the country.

Earlier this month, during Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day anniversary, Tinubu declared that “the worst is over,” arguing that the reforms are beginning to deliver results. He said the economy grew by 4.23% in the second quarter of 2025 and cited higher oil output, record non-oil revenues, and a trade surplus as signs the country is diversifying beyond crude exports.

However, the World Bank said in a report last week that while Nigeria’s external position has strengthened – with foreign reserves above $42 billion and a current account surplus of 6.1% of GDP – many households still face hardship. It added that poverty and food insecurity remain high because the gains have yet to translate into broad improvements in living standards.

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