Nigeria inflation falls to 15.43% but CBN admits pressure persists‎

‎The apex bank credits its reforms for cooling prices and growth, yet cautions that households are still feeling the strain
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‎• Headline inflation dropped from 34.8% in December 2024 to 15.43% in July 2026
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‎• Real GDP grew 4.43% in Q2 2026, led mainly by non-oil activity
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‎• The CBN concedes that pressure on households and businesses has not ended
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‎Prices are easing, growth is holding, and the central bank is careful not to take a victory lap. That is the tone of an address sighted by Confiance News, delivered on September 29, 2026 by Deputy Governor Dr. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi.
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‎From peak to relief
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‎Confiance News confirmed from the text that headline inflation climbed during the initial adjustment, peaking at 34.8 percent in December 2024. It has since fallen to 15.43 percent in July 2026. Real GDP grew by 4.43 percent in the second quarter, supported mainly by non-oil activity.
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‎The liquidity problem behind it
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‎The speech traces part of the earlier price pressure to an overhang of money in the system. Ways and Means financing had reached about ₦26.6tillion by 2023, while legacy development finance exposures exceeded ₦10trn. According to the CBN, that liquidity made inflation harder to contain and weakened monetary policy.
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‎As a result, the bank tightened policy, improved liquidity management and began winding down development finance interventions.
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‎An honest caveat
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‎Notably, the CBN did not claim sole credit. The outcomes reflect several influences, it said, including monetary policy, oil receipts, remittances and global financial conditions.
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‎They “do not mean the pressure on households and businesses has ended,” the address said. The task now is to make the improvement durable.
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‎Inclusion and the press
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‎Beyond the numbers, the bank stressed consumer protection and financial inclusion as part of resilience. A system people can access, understand and trust, it argued, is better placed to support lasting growth.
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‎Finally, the CBN invited the financial press to keep scrutinising its decisions. Reporters, it said, help the public see what has changed and where difficulties remain.
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