General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Mohammed Sanusi, has called on Nigerians to throw their full support behind the Super Falcons as they prepare to defend their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title and chase qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

With the continental showpiece set to kick off in Morocco, Sanusi said the NFF leadership has absolute confidence in the squad’s ability to retain the African crown while securing one of the qualification spots for the World Cup in Brazil.

The Super Falcons head into the tournament as defending champions after defeating hosts Morocco to win a record-extending 10th WAFCON title, making them favourites to challenge for another continental triumph.

“The NFF board has complete confidence in the Super Falcons. We believe they have what it takes to defend the title and qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup,” Sanusi said.

The NFF General Secretary also appealed to football stakeholders, supporters and the media to unite behind the team throughout the competition, stressing that a positive atmosphere around the squad could play an important role in their campaign.

Sanusi urged Nigerians to set aside differences and avoid distractions that could affect the team’s preparations as they seek another successful outing on the continental stage.

“This is the time for us to stand together as one nation. We should support the team wholeheartedly and avoid creating unnecessary negativity around them because they need our encouragement,” he added.

Nigeria remains the most successful nation in the history of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, and the Super Falcons will once again carry the country’s hopes when they begin their title defence in Morocco.

The team is expected to continue its final preparations before opening its WAFCON campaign, with the dual objective of retaining the continental trophy and securing qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.91 per cent in June, down from 15.93 per cent recorded in May, offering a modest sign of slowing price pressures even as food prices continued to rise.

The bureau disclosed this in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Wednesday.

According to the report, the headline inflation rate was significantly lower than the 25.29 per cent recorded in June 2025, representing a year-on-year decline. Compared with May, the inflation rate fell by 0.02 percentage points.

Similarly, on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent in June from 1.75 per cent in May, indicating that the average price level increased at a slower pace during the month.

“This means that in June 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in May 2026,” the NBS said.

The report also showed that the Consumer Price Index rose to 143.0 in June from 140.7 in May, reflecting a 2.3-point increase in the average price level.

Food prices

While overall inflation moderated slightly, food prices continued to exert pressure on household budgets.

The NBS said food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis in June, compared with 25.41 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.

However, on a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 3.75 per cent in June from 2.98 per cent recorded in May.

According to the bureau, the increase was driven by higher prices of several staple food items, including fresh pepper, tomatoes, crayfish, beef, garri, yam tubers, yam flour, cassava flour, cowpea, bananas and Irish potatoes.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points.

Other major contributors included restaurants and accommodation services (2.06 percentage points), transport (1.70 percentage points), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (1.34 percentage points), education (0.99 percentage points) and health (0.96 percentage points).

Core inflation moderates

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 15.92 per cent year-on-year in June, down from 25.41 per cent recorded in the corresponding period last year.

On a month-on-month basis, core inflation also moderated to 1.66 per cent, compared with 1.94 per cent in May.

The report further showed that the average headline inflation rate for the 12 months ending June 2026 stood at 17.63 per cent, lower than 29.82 per cent recorded in June 2025.

Likewise, the average annual food inflation rate declined to 16.42 per cent from 31.93 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The NBS said urban inflation stood at 16.08 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation was 15.48 per cent.

On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation increased to 2.13 per cent from 1.99 per cent in May, whereas rural inflation slowed to 0.52 per cent from 1.17 per cent.

Inflation varies across states

The report also highlighted wide disparities in inflation across the country.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s inflation up 15.93% amid high food prices – NBS

Niger State recorded the highest annual all-items inflation rate at 42.23 per cent, followed by Kogi (41.59 per cent) and the Federal Capital Territory (39.91 per cent).

By contrast, Imo State posted the lowest annual inflation rate at 19.47 per cent, followed by Ebonyi (20.79 per cent) and Katsina (21.87 per cent).

For food inflation, Kogi State recorded the highest year-on-year rate at 53.02 per cent, followed by Niger (43.83 per cent) and Benue (40.83 per cent).

The lowest food inflation rates were recorded in Katsina (19.15 per cent), Rivers (23.81 per cent) and Imo (24.60 per cent).

The June inflation figures come as Nigeria continues to navigate the effects of ongoing economic reforms, including exchange rate adjustments and higher energy and transportation costs, which have contributed to elevated consumer prices over the past two years.