The President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Magaji, has attributed rising food prices across several states to increased transportation costs, despite the ongoing harvest season.
Food inflation in September 2026 pointed in two directions across Nigeria. Lagos, Imo and Ondo recorded the sharpest year-on-year rises in food prices, while Taraba, Yobe and Borno posted the mildest, with Taraba’s food prices actually lower than a year earlier.
That is according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Consumer Price Index report for September 2026, released on October 15, which breaks food inflation down state by state.
The NBS said food inflation in Lagos rose 34.40 per cent year-on-year, the highest of any state. Imo followed at 33.79 per cent, and Ondo at 31.49 per cent.
Lagos also had the highest food price level in the country, with its food index standing at 178.0 against a base period of 2024 equal to 100. Rivers and Oyo, at 168.1 and 165.5, were the next most expensive.
At the other end, Taraba recorded a food inflation rate of negative 7.47 per cent, meaning food prices there are lower than they were in September 2025. Yobe stood at negative 0.37 per cent, and Borno at 2.18 per cent.
Even so, the NBS cautioned that the consumption baskets used to measure inflation differ from state to state, so comparing states directly can be misleading.
Month-on-month figures told a different story, and one that complicates the headline. Imo led monthly food price increases at 5.15 per cent, followed by Ondo at 4.46 per cent and Oyo at 3.82 per cent.
Imo’s food prices have risen fastest in both the monthly and annual measures, and Imo also recorded the steepest all-items monthly increase in the country at 8.64 per cent, according to the report.
Adamawa, Kano and Bauchi posted the sharpest monthly falls. Food prices in Adamawa dropped 13.84 per cent in September compared with August, while Kano fell 11.01 per cent and Bauchi 10.21 per cent. Bauchi, though, had the cheapest food basket in the country, with a food index of 119.1, and still recorded a 5.3 per cent annual rise.
Of the 37 locations covered in the report, including the Federal Capital Territory, food prices fell in 25 in September compared with August, while 12 recorded increases. The decline may be linked to increased food supplies during the harvest season and changes in market prices, although the NBS did not give specific reasons for the price movements in each state.
The annual picture is still uncomfortable for most households. Only Taraba and Yobe recorded falling or flat food prices over the year. Sixteen states, including Lagos, Imo, Ondo, Delta, Benue and Rivers, recorded food inflation above 20 per cent, meaning the cost of the basic food basket rose by more than a fifth in twelve months.
The farm produce index, which tracks the unprocessed agricultural goods that make up much of the food basket, also varied widely. Enugu had the highest farm produce index at 180.3, followed by Lagos at 178.0, while Nasarawa had the lowest at 121.3.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH via phone call, the President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Magaji, attributed the increase in food prices to rising transportation costs, saying the impact varies depending on where the food is produced.
Magaji explained that food prices might remain relatively stable in states where the commodities are produced, as transportation costs would have less impact on prices.
He said most food production was taking place in Taraba State and other parts of northern Nigeria, noting that neighbouring states also depended on supplies from Taraba.
“I said this is because the cost of transportation has increased. That’s the only reason, nothing more than this. Nothing more than this,” he said.
He added that food prices might not rise significantly in states where the commodities were produced because of the shorter distances involved in moving them to markets.
“Most of the production is being made in Taraba and other states here in the north. So if it is being made in your state, the price may not increase; if there’s any increase in transportation, the increase will just be very minimal. That’s the reason,” Magaji said.
The AFAN president cited Gombe, Bauchi and other locations in the North as areas that received food supplies from Taraba, which he said typically harvested certain crops earlier than other states.
“Because even here in Gombe, Bauchi and other places, we get a lot of food items from Taraba, because they normally get food earlier than other people. Now they have harvested, including guinea corn, which lasts up to November and December,” he said.
He said the harvest of crops such as guinea corn could help sustain food supplies into November and December.