By Femi Anamelechi
Nigerians are presently lamenting over the spiraling increase in the cost of food items in the country as cost of living crisis deepened in March 2025 the food inflation spiked to 21.79% year-on-year. The recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has Shown that NBS in the report pointed out the surge is attributable to significant price increases in staple foods such as garri, rice, and fresh produce.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 2.18% in March, up from 1.67% Consequently, headline inflation also rose to 24.23% in March 2025, reflecting a 1.05% increase from the 23.18% recorded in February. The present upward trend underscores the persistent economic pressures facing consumers nationwide. The report further highlighted that such staple foods as yellow garri, Ofada rice, natural honey, crabs, potatoes, plantain flour, and fresh pepper were major contributors to the inflationary surge. These items experienced significant price hikes due to supply chain disruptions, seasonal scarcities, and escalating transportation costs. Food inflation varied significantly across states. On a year-on-year basis, Oyo (34.41%), Kaduna (31.14%), and Kebbi (30.85%) reported the steepest increases. In contrast, Bayelsa (9.61%), Adamawa (12.41%), and Akwa Ibom (12.60%) experienced more modest inflation rates.
The month-on-month data also showed disparities. Kaduna (18.85%), Osun (16.49%), and Oyo (14.44%) recorded the highest price surges, whereas Sokoto (-14.10%), Nasarawa (-9.91%), and Edo (-5.78%) saw reductions in food inflation. These declines were attributed to localized harvests and targeted government subsidy programs.The NBS further explained that its analysis is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which weights items according to household consumption patterns across different regions. This variance in consumption behavior makes direct state-to-state comparisons unreliable and potentially misleading.
