The National Bureau of Statistics has identified Benue, Ekiti, and Kebbi as the Nigerian states experiencing the highest year-on-year food inflation rates.
This information was revealed in the April Consumer Price Index report published by NBS on Thursday.
According to the report, Benue leads with the highest year-on-year increase in food inflation at 51.76 percent, followed by Ekiti at 34.05 percent, and Kebbi at 33.82 percent.
In simple terms, food prices have surged the most in Benue, Ekiti, and Kebbi States.
On the other hand, Ebonyi recorded the slowest year-on-year increase at 7.19 percent, with Adamawa and Ogun close behind at 9.52 percent and 9.91 percent respectively.
Looking at monthly changes, Benue, Ekiti, and Yobe topped the list for the biggest food inflation rises.
Specifically, food inflation for April on a month-to-month basis stood at 25.59 percent in Benue, 16.73 percent in Ekiti, and 13.92 percent in Yobe.
The sharp rise in Benue’s food inflation could be linked to the recent wave of attacks in the North Central state, which has left many dead and displaced in the past two months.
Conversely, some states experienced a decrease in food inflation month-on-month, with Ebonyi at -14.43 percent, Kano at -11.37 percent, and Ogun at -7.06 percent.
Meanwhile, NBS data indicated that Nigeria’s overall headline food inflation was 21.26 percent in April, measured on a year-on-year basis.
The monthly food inflation rate for April was 2.06 percent, a slight drop from 2.18 percent recorded in March 2025. This decline was attributed to “the rate of decrease in the average prices of maize (corn) flour, wheat grain, dried okra, yam flour, soybeans, rice, Bambara beans, and brown beans,” according to NBS.