The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has overhauled its Consumer Price Index (CPI), removing outdated consumption items and adding new products to reflect contemporary Nigerian lifestyles. The rebasing, completed in 2025 with 2024 as the new base year, is the country’s first in 15 years, far beyond the recommended five-year cycle.
Speaking at a virtual stakeholder engagement on December 2025 inflation, organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Statistician-General and NBS CEO Adeyemi Adeniran said the update was necessary to align inflation measurement with present-day realities. “We were still tracking inflation with a basket built around a 2009 lifestyle. After 15 years, that basket could no longer tell the true story of prices in Nigeria,” he explained.
A nationwide household expenditure survey conducted in 2023 and 2024 across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory revealed that Nigerians no longer consume 201 items previously included in the CPI basket, such as black-and-white televisions, Nokia 3310 phones, and old Motorola handsets.
Director of Price Statistics at NBS, Dr Ayo Anthony, said 404 new products now regularly purchased by Nigerians were added, expanding the CPI basket to 934 items from about 740 previously. The changes aim to better capture modern consumption patterns, including new technologies and evolving household needs.
Adeniran noted that using December 2024 as the reference period could create a misleading spike in December 2025 inflation due to a base effect. NBS has adopted international best practices to normalize the figure and avoid misinterpretation.
NESG CEO Dr Tayo Aduloju welcomed the rebasing, emphasizing that credible data is critical for sound policy and investor confidence. “When consumption habits change, statistics must change with them,” he said.
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