Top 10 Most Expensive States To Buy Food in Nigeria As December 2025 Brings Relief
- December inflation figures released by the NBS has revealed that Nigerians experienced a slowdown in the rate of price increases across the country
- The new data offered good news however a look at the figures showed that in 2025 Nigerians struggled with high food inflation
- For the full year, Yobe, Ogun, and Abuja residents were paid to pay more for food compared to others
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed a slowdown in Nigeria’s inflation rate for December 2025, providing relief for households across the country.
According to the bureau, food inflation rate in December 2025 fell to 10.84% a massive 29.0% lower than the rate recorded in December 2024 which was 39.84%, indicating that families are spending relatively less to buy food compared to the previous year.
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NBS, however, stated that December 2025 was a slower month compared to November 2025.
According to the report, On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate declined to -0.36%, down by 1.49% compared to November 2025 (1.13%).
The drop was driven by decreases in prices of key items such as tomatoes, garri, eggs, potatoes, carrots, millet, vegetables, plantain, beans, wheat grain, ground pepper, and fresh onions.
The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending December 2025 was 22.00%, highlighting the persistent but improving pressure on food prices.
States with highest food inflation
On a year-on-year basis, the states that is the most expensive to buy food in December 2025 were:
- Yobe – 15.25%
- Ogun – 14.12%
- Abuja – 13.24%
- Lagos – 12.5%
- Delta – 12.5%
- Kano – 12.0%
- Kogi – 11.9%
- Osun – 11.9%
- Rivers – 12.3%
- Ekiti – 12.6%
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Headline inflation rate
Also NBS revealed that the year-on-year headline inflation rate for December 2025 stood at 15.15%, down from 17.33% in November 2025.
Compared to December 2024 (34.80%), the December 2025 headline inflation rate decreased by 19.65 percentage points, indicating a significant slowdown in price increases over the year, although measured with a different base year (November 2009 = 100).
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in December 2025 was 0.54%, which is 0.69% lower than the rate recorded in November 2025 (1.22%). This shows that the rate of increase in average prices slowed in December 2025 compared to the previous month.
New price for 50kg rice
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that rice prices across Nigeria are falling, offering relief to households struggling with rising food costs.
Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, confirmed the price drop when he announced on Friday, November 26 at the 60th Annual Bankers’ Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, that Lagos-produced rice now sells for between N57,000 and N58,000 per 50kg bag.
He described the drop in price as a sign of improving inflation and economic stability.
Source: Legit.ng
