Nigeria aims to bring inflation below 10% before the end of 2027, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said on Monday, October 26, at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja. The government hopes the target will help create conditions for cheaper borrowing by businesses and households.
Oyedele linked the ambition to the prospect of lower lending rates, which remain high despite an easing in price pressures. The deadline is a government policy goal, not an inflation rate already achieved or a guaranteed independent forecast.
Annual consumer price inflation stood at 14.63% in September 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The measure is based on a consumer price index rebased to 2024. Bringing inflation below 10% would mean that prices were generally rising more slowly, not necessarily falling.
The Central Bank of Nigeria set its benchmark monetary policy rate at 23% at its September 21–22 meeting. That policy rate is distinct from the interest rates banks charge borrowers. Slower inflation could make financing less expensive, but would not automatically determine future central bank decisions or commercial lending rates.
Lower borrowing costs could ease the financing of inventories, machinery and new investment for companies. For households, the immediate challenge remains purchasing power after years of steep increases in everyday expenses.
The government has defended changes to petrol subsidies and the foreign-exchange market introduced since 2023 while saying it wants those reforms to deliver stronger gains in incomes and economic activity. The deadline announced in Abuja gives its anti-inflation ambition a more specific horizon, while monetary policy decisions remain with the central bank.