Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, extending the upward trend recorded since the beginning of the year, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figure shows an increase from the 15.69 per cent recorded in April, indicating that prices of goods and services continued to climb despite a slower monthly rate of inflation.

Data contained in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the NBS on Monday showed that the May inflation rate was 0.24 percentage points higher than the previous month.

However, on a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed to 1.75 per cent in May from 2.13 per cent recorded in April.

The NBS said the latest figures suggest that while prices are still rising, the rate of increase has moderated from the previous month.

“On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.93%, up from 15.69% in April 2026,” the bureau stated.

The latest increase marks the third consecutive rise in headline inflation this year.

Food inflation

Food prices, which remain one of the biggest drivers of household spending, also rose during the month.

According to the NBS, food inflation rose to 16.96 per cent in May from 16.68 per cent in April.

The bureau attributed the increase to price changes in key staple foods consumed nationwide.

Items contributing to the rise include fresh onions, maize grains, melon (egusi), water yams, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grains, cassava tubers, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain, and cowpea.

Despite the annual increase, the monthly food inflation rate declined to 2.98 per cent from 3.63 per cent recorded in April, suggesting a slower pace of food price increases during the month.

The report showed significant differences in food inflation across states.

On a year-on-year basis, Adamawa recorded the highest food inflation rate at 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara at 28.47 per cent and Rivers at 28.40 per cent.

Borno recorded the lowest food inflation rate at -6.53 per cent, while Taraba and Bayelsa posted 1.13 per cent and 5.99 per cent, respectively.

On a month-on-month basis, Bauchi recorded the highest food inflation rate at 7.73 per cent, followed by Ogun at 6.86 per cent and Jigawa at 6.69 per cent.

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In contrast, Niger recorded the slowest increase at 3.54 per cent, while Katsina and Gombe recorded negative food inflation rates of 3.48 per cent and 2.22 per cent, respectively.

The latest inflation figures come as many households continue to grapple with high living costs despite recent signs of economic stabilisation.

Food remains the largest component of consumer spending for most Nigerians, making changes in food prices a key indicator of household welfare.

Over the weekend, Google CEO Sundar Pichai faced a small revolt when he delivered his commencement speech at Stanford University, where he earned his graduate degree in materials science and engineering. About 200 students from the graduating class reportedly walked out, while others loudly booed the tech executive.

The focus of the protest was Google’s defense ties — including Project Nimbus, the controversial $1.2 billion contract, shared with Amazon, to provide cloud and AI services to the Israeli military, as well as its relationship with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Student signs included phrases like “ICE SPIES WITH GOOGLE AI” and “GENOCIDE RUNS ON GOOGLE,” as well as “FREE FREE PALESTINE,” a press release associated with the protest notes. Students also waved Palestinian flags and shouted “free Palestine,” online video of the protest shows.

“We are walking out because we refuse to glorify the corporations that fuel this violence and exercise our power to choose differently,” a statement associated with the protest reads.

The walkout was organized by a number of campus activist groups, including Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine, No Tech for Apartheid, and Tech for Liberation. TechCrunch reached out to Google for comment.

As the war in Gaza has raged, Google’s participation in Nimbus has drawn protests from both inside and outside of the company. In 2024, Google fired 28 workers for protesting the contract, although it has continued to suffer internal dissent over the issue since then. It was also recently criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which accused it and other companies of “choosing to look the other way” on Israel’s use of their services.

Project Nimbus also enjoys support from Amazon. Microsoft has also been criticized for its support of the Israeli military, although the company restricted the Israeli government’s use of its technology after an investigation found that its cloud services were being used to mass-surveil Palestinians.

The student protest also drew criticism from business leaders online. Vinod Khosla, the billionaire co-founder of Sun Microsystems and one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitalists, posted on X that the protest was “biased, idiotic, short-sighted and very selfish,” adding that it was selfish because the students “ignored the bottom 3 billion people on this planet that could benefit from AI and they are worried about their misinformed selfish self-interest.”

Pichai’s appearance at Stanford is part of a broader pattern. Speakers at college graduation ceremonies around the country have faced boos when they have attempted to get outgoing college students excited about AI. But rarely has student animus been as targeted as it was with Pichai, directed not at AI hype, but at the specific business decisions made by the company he leads. In general, young people seem to believe that AI is threatening their employment opportunities and may be ruining other parts of society as well.