By: Tijani Salako.

Nigeria’s inflation rate eased slightly to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 from 15.10 per cent in January, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said on Monday, cautioning that emerging risks could reverse the modest gains if not urgently addressed.

This was disclosed by Dr Chinyere Almona, Director-General of the LCCI, in a statement that was signed and titled “Consolidating on Inflation Moderation in the Face of New Threats”, which was released through the Chamber’s Head of Corporate Communication, Mr Sunday Osanyintuyi

The decline marks a significant improvement from the 26.27 per cent recorded in February 2025, reflecting a gradual easing of inflationary pressures over the past year.

However, the Chamber noted that the month-on-month inflation rate rose to 2.01 per cent in February, after contracting in January, indicating that price pressures remain persistent despite the annual decline.

Food prices remain the primary driver of inflation, fueled by structural challenges in Nigeria’s food supply chain, high logistics costs, and production constraints.

The LCCI noted that the marginal moderation in inflation offers cautious optimism for businesses and households, as prolonged high inflation has eroded purchasing power, increased production costs, and weakened consumer demand across key sectors.

The Chamber warned that emerging domestic and global risks including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, exchange-rate volatility, climate-related disruptions, insecurity in food-producing regions, and high transportation costs could undermine recent progress.

It highlighted that expanding local refining capacity and boosting crude supply to domestic refineries could help reduce Nigeria’s vulnerability to external energy shocks.

To sustain inflation moderation, the LCCI urged deliberate policy actions, including improving foreign exchange liquidity, boosting non-oil export earnings, strengthening food security, and investing in storage and logistics infrastructure.

Accelerated reforms in the power and energy sectors were also recommended to reduce production costs for businesses, while improved efficiency in transport and trade infrastructure including better port operations, cargo evacuation systems, and digital trade processes was highlighted as critical to lowering logistics costs.

While acknowledging the recent decline in inflation as encouraging, the Chamber emphasised that maintaining this trend would require consistent macroeconomic management, structural reforms, and policies that enhance domestic productivity.

It further stressed that supply-side interventions would be more effective than price controls, noting that recent month-on-month inflation trends indicate a fragile grip on price pressures.