The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced a major update to Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), scrapping old consumption patterns and introducing new products to more accurately reflect contemporary spending habits. The overhaul follows a 15-year gap since the last CPI rebasing, which used outdated data from 2009.
Speaking during a virtual stakeholder session on December 2025 inflation, organised with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), the Statistician-General of the Federation and NBS Chief Executive Officer, Adeyemi Adeniran, explained that the revision was necessary to align inflation tracking with current lifestyles.
“We were still measuring inflation based on a basket built around a 2009 lifestyle. Fifteen years later, that basket no longer represents how Nigerians spend,” Adeniran said. “This rebasing ensures inflation data now reflects real consumption today.”
Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that the rebasing exercise, completed in 2025 with 2024 as the new base year, involved a comprehensive nationwide household expenditure survey conducted in 2023 and 2024 across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The survey revealed that 201 items previously included in the CPI basket were no longer in regular use by Nigerian households.
Among the discarded items are black-and-white televisions, Nokia 3310 phones, and older Motorola handsets, which no longer influence household spending patterns. At the same time, 404 new products commonly purchased by Nigerians have been added, expanding the CPI basket from about 740 items to 934, capturing modern technologies, lifestyle changes, and evolving household needs.
Dr Ayo Anthony, Director of Price Statistics at NBS, emphasised that items were removed solely based on survey evidence. “These are not arbitrary decisions; people simply did not report spending on them over a 12-month period,” he said.
The rebasing introduces technical considerations, including a potential base effect that could artificially inflate the December 2025 inflation figure. Adeniran assured stakeholders that NBS applied international best practices to normalise the data, avoiding misinterpretation and maintaining accurate economic signals for policy and investment decisions.
NESG Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tayo Aduloju, welcomed the update, noting that credible data is critical for Nigeria’s ongoing reforms. “Statistics must evolve alongside consumption habits,” he said. “This updated CPI provides a stronger foundation for policy-making and boosts investor confidence.”
The CPI rebasing represents Nigeria’s first in 15 years, far exceeding the recommended five-year cycle. Analysts believe the update will offer a more precise tool for monitoring inflation trends, guiding economic policies, and reflecting the real financial pressures faced by Nigerian households today.
