Nigeria’s inflation rate increased marginally in April 2026, rising to 15.69 per cent from 15.38 per cent recorded in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, CPI, report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, on Friday.

The data showed a 0.31 percentage point year-on-year increase, indicating that the general price level of goods and services remained higher compared to the previous month.

However, the report also pointed to a slowdown in price increases on a month-on-month basis, suggesting a gradual easing in the pace of inflationary pressure.

According to the NBS, month-on-month headline inflation stood at 2.13 per cent in April 2026, down significantly from 4.18 per cent recorded in March.

“This means that in April 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2026,” the bureau explained.

The statistics agency noted that although inflation remains elevated, the latest figures reflect a moderation in the speed of price increases across the economy.

On a 12-month average basis, the headline inflation rate for the period ending April 2026 was 19.16 per cent, slightly lower than the 19.33 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

A breakdown of the report showed mixed inflation trends between urban and rural areas.

Urban inflation stood at 15.40 per cent year-on-year in April 2026, while month-on-month urban inflation eased to 1.86 per cent from 3.16 per cent in March.

The 12-month average urban inflation rate was 19.07 per cent, compared to 20.76 per cent recorded in April 2025.

In rural areas, inflation was higher at 16.36 per cent year-on-year, reflecting continued cost pressures outside major cities.

However, rural month-on-month inflation dropped sharply to 2.80 per cent in April, down from 6.73 per cent in March.

The 12-month average rural inflation rate stood at 18.99 per cent, higher than the 17.63 per cent recorded in the same period last year.

The 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Ebonyi State, Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has declared his intention to re- contest the 2027 gubernatorial race under the platform of the PDP, saying his mandate cannot be stolen again.

Odii said he is contesting the Ebonyi State governorship position because there has not been any improvement in the lives of the people and the economy of the state.

The PDP Chieftain, who spoke to journalists after he submitted his nomination forms and was successfully screened by the PDP’s screening panel at the Legacy House, Abuja, said, ” Ebonyi State requires leadership ” at this critical time.

He claimed that since the 2023 general election, poverty has rather increased in Ebonyi despite the huge federal allocations that have accrued to the state, noting that Ebonyi urgently needs someone with the capacity for “economic and human capital development.”

Odii said, “Poverty and insecurity have continued to increase in Ebonyi State, and that is why we have decided to get it right this time.”

The politician noted that for democracy to grow, there has to be a strong opposition, noting that any opposition with constructive ideas is welcome.

He insisted that any government or society that says there should be no opposition is a dictatorship and will not be allowed in Ebonyi State.

“So we have come today to let the whole world know that ‘Anyichuks’ is now running to be the governor of Ebonyi State.

“When they are talking about ‘you are not from North, you are not from Izzi, and all that, I am from Ebonyi State, before Izzi, before Onicha local government, the day I was born, I was born as somebody from Ebonyi State. Ebonyi State is not going to be governed on the basis of clannish politics,” he said.

Odii, who expressed confidence that he will secure the PDP ticket at the primary election, also assured the PDP and his supporters that their mandate will not be stolen again in 2027.