Nigeria experienced a rare reversal in its inflation trend in September 2025, as data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed the nation’s first month-on-month food deflation in more than 13 years.

According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, headline inflation eased significantly to 18.02%, down from 20.12% in August, one of the sharpest monthly declines in recent times.

The slowdown was largely driven by a notable drop in food inflation, which fell to 16.87% in September from 21.87% the previous month. Even more striking was the -1.57% month-on-month food inflation rate, indicating an actual fall in food prices — the first negative reading since February 2012, when it stood at -0.13%.

Analysts attribute this moderation to several factors, including seasonal harvest trends, statistical base effects, and the recent rebasing of the inflation basket by the NBS.

The ongoing harvest season across key agricultural regions boosted the supply of staples such as maize, yam, rice, and vegetables, commodities that typically experience price drops during this period.

Additionally, the rebasing of the inflation basket, which updates the list of goods and services used to measure inflation to reflect current consumption habits, helped realign price weightings across categories. This adjustment, combined with a high comparative base from last year, amplified the overall slowdown.

The consistent fall in prices of major food items highlights the impact of improved market supply and seasonal factors, underscoring a temporary but welcome relief in Nigeria’s persistent inflationary pressures.

Moribund industries in Abia State are to be revived to address youth unemployment and poverty, as well as boost the Internally Generated Revenues, IGR, of the State.

This was disclosed by Governor Alex Otti at Government House, Umuahia, on Thursday during his October edition of monthly chat with Abia people.

He identified unemployment and poverty as major challenges to development of the society, but explained that reviving the moribund industries back to life will take away several youths from unemployment.

He announced that some companies such as Modern Ceramics, Aba Textile Mills and International Glass industries which have been obsolete for many years will be acquired by his administration from their owners, revived and handed over to competent investors to manage, saying that it would prevent the companies from dying again.

On the demolition of some old school buildings before renovations, Governor Otti said it was to avoid a situation where school buildings would collapse on innocent pupils in class.

He disclosed that some old school buildings failed the integrity test because of years of dilapidation, but assured that all such structures were being demolished to erect new ones where the safety of pupils and teachers will not be at risk.

The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, commonly known as cooking gas, has soared to an unprecedented level in Lagos, squeezing households and small businesses as the Federal Government moves to clamp down on suspected hoarders.

As of Monday, a kilogramme of LPG sold between N2,500 and N3,000 across several parts of the state, a steep increase from about N1,000 per kilogramme recorded in August.

In areas such as Amuwo Odofin and Surulere, the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder has climbed to over N25,000, according to market checks.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in a statement issued by his spokesperson Louis Ibah, directed relevant regulatory agencies to take “immediate enforcement action” against marketers found hoarding products or inflating prices.

“This situation is unacceptable. The government will not allow a few operators to exploit citizens,” Ekpo said, adding that normal supply is expected to resume within a week.

Officials attributed the sudden spike to two major disruptions, the recent PENGASSAN strike at the Dangote Refinery and ongoing maintenance work at the Nigeria LNG Train 4 facility, both of which have significantly reduced gas supply to the domestic market.

Although the strike was suspended nearly two weeks ago, supply levels have yet to stabilise. Several gas depots in Apapa and Ikeja reportedly operated below capacity on Monday, with long queues of tankers waiting to load.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, shows the sharp reversal in price trends. In August 2025, the average retail price for a 12.5kg cylinder fell by 21.42% to N16,195.07, before the recent surge wiped out those gains.