Written by SpringNewsNG Media Limited | April 16, 2025

Nigeria’s food inflation rate surged to 21.79% year-on-year in March 2025, highlighting the continued rise in the cost of essential food items across the country. The development comes as the headline inflation rate climbed to 24.23%, up from 23.18% in February 2025, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS March Inflation Report attributes the spike in food inflation to increased prices of critical staples such as fresh ginger, yellow garri, local Ofada rice, and honey.

Top States Affected by Food Inflation

A detailed review of the report shows that Oyo State recorded the highest food inflation rate at 34.41%, followed by Kaduna (31.14%) and Kebbi (30.85%). These figures represent the most significant year-on-year increases in food prices across the federation.

In contrast, the states with the lowest food inflation rates were:

• Bayelsa: 9.61%
• Adamawa: 12.41%
• Akwa Ibom: 12.60%

On a month-on-month basis, the top three states with the highest increases in food prices were:

• Oyo: 19.74%
• Kaduna: 17.24%
• Kebbi: 14.03%

Meanwhile, Sokoto, Nasarawa, and Edo recorded the slowest rises in monthly food inflation.

National Inflation Rate Sees Sharp Monthly Increase

The month-on-month headline inflation rose to 3.90% in March 2025—an increase of 1.85% compared to the 2.04% recorded in February, indicating an acceleration in general price levels.

Urban vs. Rural Inflation Analysis

• Urban areas experienced a 26.12% year-on-year inflation rate, with a 3.96% month-on-month increase, up from 2.40% in February.
• Rural areas saw a 20.89% year-on-year rise and a 3.73% month-on-month rate, up from 1.16% in February.

Core Inflation and State Rankings

The core inflation rate—excluding volatile items such as food and energy—stood at 24.43% year-on-year and 3.73% month-on-month, reflecting a 1.21% increase from February’s 2.52%.

States with the highest all-items inflation (year-on-year) included:

• Kaduna: 33.33%
• Osun: 32.08%
• Kebbi: 30.74%

Conversely, the lowest rates were recorded in:

• Akwa Ibom: 12.81%
• Bayelsa: 14.02%
• Sokoto: 14.83%

For month-on-month all-items inflation, the top states were:

• Kaduna: 18.85%
• Osun: 16.49%
• Oyo: 14.44%

The lowest month-on-month increases were observed in Sokoto, Nasarawa, and Kw