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Nigeria’s inflation up 15.93% amid high food prices

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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.

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.

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NDLEA intercepts South African lady with 3-year-old son as cover to traffic heroin

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A 38-year-old South African lady, Ms. Will Jessica Ann has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja after she was found to have concealed 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms in her luggage, using her three-year-old son as a cover to beat security checks and evade thorough screening.

The suspect was arrested by NDLEA officers on Monday 6th July 2026 during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha to Abuja. Though she initially denied travelling with check-in bags, but after operatives were able to quickly establish that the two bags containing the drugs had tags which tallied with the claim tags attached to her passport, she recounted and admitted ownership of the bags adding that she forgot she checked in the two bags.
She claimed to have travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja. Intelligence leading to her arrests indicates she is a member of a transnational drug trafficking organization along with her husband/partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia from where they operate their drug network along the Cambodian-South African axis.
In another successful interdiction operation, NDLEA officers at the terminal 2 arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos on 28th June 2026 intercepted a commercial motorcycle operator popularly known as ‘Okada rider’, 48-year-old Onyechere Daniel Chinadu following his arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight.
A thorough search of his back pack, which he had checked in, led to the discovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed within cloths in his bag. In his statement, Onyechere claimed he has been working for 15 years as an Okada rider at Oke-Afo area of Lagos before his Uganda based friend recruited him into drug trafficking.
He said he ingested the recovered pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before embarking on his planned journey to Madagascar to deliver the drug consignment. He however said that upon arrival in Madagascar, he was denied entry by Immigration authorities. As a result, his friend and sponsor, Ozor Igo, based in Uganda rerouted his flight to Lagos, where he was eventually arrested by NDLEA officers.
The suspect was unable to state the exact number of pellets he had ingested in Uganda and as a result, he was placed under excretion observation for a period of three days. Between the date of his arrest and 1st of July, he was able to excrete 13 pellets in addition to the initial 87 wraps recovered from him, bringing the total number to 100 wraps of methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1.715 kilograms.
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a total of 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud weighing 4,143.5 kilograms worth over N10.3 billion in street value were discovered in a container imported from Canada during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers, Customs personnel and other security agencies on Friday 10th July 2026.
The discovery followed weeks of targeted tracking and monitoring of the shipment since its departure from Montreal, Canada, by operatives of the Maritime Intelligence Unit of NDLEA in close collaboration with the Apapa Strategic Command of the Agency. Meanwhile, an attempt to export a 2.5kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in a gas compressor going to Cyprus through a courier company in Lagos has been thwarted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation(DOGI).
With the same zeal, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture for students and staff of Nnodo Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Government Girls Secondary School, Sabon Gida, Sharada, Kano; Royal Jesuit College, Agbado Ekiti; and Community Secondary School, Idofa, Ogun, while the leadership of Zone 14 Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara at Government House Port Harcourt, among others.
While commending the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, NAIA, MIU, and, Apapa Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) noted their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitization activities while he charged them and their compatriots across the country not to rest on their past laurels.

The post NDLEA intercepts South African lady with 3-year-old son as cover to traffic heroin appeared first on Business Today NG.

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Zenith Bank, Unilever, BUA Cement top stock pick this week

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The earnings’ season is here once more, with the half-year period already gone past and the publication of corporate results set to commence any moment soon.

The largely positive investor sentiment that dominated trade in that period drove a sweeping rally in Nigerian stocks January though June. That positive has made the country’s equity market the best-performing in the world in dollar terms.

If half-year corporate reports come out stronger than they were a year ago, the market could ride on that momentum to turn out a fabulous yield that could meet investors’ expectations in the short term.

“Nevertheless, we expect pockets of bargain hunting to emerge as investors gradually position ahead of the H1:2026 earnings season, particularly in fundamentally sound stocks that have become more attractively valued following the recent market pullback,” analysts at Meristem Securities said in their note to investors last week.

“We also expect companies with strong earnings prospects and attractive interim dividend potential to continue attracting selective buying interest.”

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PREMIUM TIMES has assembled some stocks with sound fundamentals, adopting rigorous approaches to save you the risk of picking equities at random for investment.

The pick, a product of an analytical market watch, offers a guide to entering the market and taking strategic positions, with the expectation that selected stocks will record reasonable price appreciation with the passage of time.

This is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation but a stock investment guide. You may need to involve your financial advisor before taking investment decisions.

Zenith Bank

Zenith Bank tops this week’s pick on the basis of its strong fundamentals and for trading below its intrinsic value. The lender’s net profit ratio (NPR) is 21.8 per cent, while the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is 4.4x. Its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is 41.6.

Unilever

Unilever makes the selection for its strong fundamentals. The NPR of the consumer goods company is 14.8 per cent, while the PE ratio is 21.4x. Its 14-day RSI is 14.1.

BUA Cement

BUA Cement appears on the pick on the basis of its attractive fundamentals. The NPR of the cement manufacturer is 36.4 per cent, while the PE ratio is 25.5x. The 14-day RSI is 0.

READ ALSO: Zenith Bank backs Canada-Africa Business Conference to deepen trade, investment ties

Coronation Insurance

Coronation Insurance makes the selection by virtue of its strong fundamentals. The NPR of the insurer is 19.8 per cent, while the PE ratio is 8.1x. Its 14-day RSI is 46.2.

UACN

UACN makes the cut based on its strong fundamentals. The NPR of the conglomerate is 2.3x, while the PE ratio is 26.2x. Its 14-day RSI is 53.

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