The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the federal government to prioritise food security and tackle insecurity in agricultural communities as part of a broader strategy to moderate inflation, following the release of Nigeria's latest consumer price data.
Nigeria's headline inflation rate rose to **15.93%** year-on-year in May 2026, up from 15.69% in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The Consumer Price Index increased to 140.7 points in May from 138.3 points in April, signalling sustained price pressures across the economy.
Food inflation stood at **16.96%**, remaining above the headline rate and continuing to erode household purchasing power. On a month-on-month basis, however, there were signs of moderation: headline inflation slowed to 1.75% in May from 2.13% in April, while food inflation eased to 2.98% from 3.63%.
In a policy brief analysing the latest figures, the CPPE attributed the marginal uptick partly to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have impacted global energy markets and supply chains. It noted that food and beverages, transportation, housing, energy, health, and education collectively account for about **87%** of headline inflation, underscoring that the burden remains concentrated in essential goods and services consumed by ordinary Nigerians.
"The consequence is lower agricultural output and tighter food supply, which continue to fuel food inflation. Therefore, tackling insecurity is not only a security imperative; it is also a critical inflation-management strategy," the CPPE stated.
The think tank said insecurity in key food-producing regions has displaced farming communities, reduced cultivated acreage, disrupted agricultural supply chains, and increased transportation costs — all of which have tightened food supply and sustained price pressures.
The CPPE recommended that government intervention focus on improving food security, strengthening logistics infrastructure, investing in mass transit and rail transportation, enhancing energy security, and restoring safety in farming communities.
The organisation emphasised that Nigeria's inflation challenge remains largely cost-push in nature, arguing that policy solutions should prioritise production and distribution costs rather than relying solely on monetary tightening alone.
Despite the year-on-year increase, the CPPE noted that the current inflation rate of 15.93% remains significantly below the **26.06%** recorded in May 2025, indicating substantial disinflation over the past year. The think tank described the latest uptick as a reflection of external shocks and domestic structural challenges rather than broad macroeconomic instability.
For businesses and tax professionals, the persistence of elevated inflation — particularly in food and energy costs — has direct implications for input pricing, consumer demand, and working capital management. Sustained inflation also influences the monetary policy rate, which affects borrowing costs and corporate financial planning across sectors.
