Nigerian inflation was at 24.48% in annual terms in January, the statistics agency said on Tuesday, a sharply lower figure than the last release after a rebasing exercise to reflect changes in consumption patterns.

Last month the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimated inflation was at 34.80% year on year in December, before the rebasing which it says will make its data more up-to-date by using 2024 as the base year instead of 2009.

"The price estimate from NBS will be much more reflective of the current inflationary pressure experienced within the economy," Statistician-General Prince Adeyemi Adeniran told reporters.

The statistics agency said on Tuesday that food inflation, a key driver of the headline rate, was at 26.08% year on year in January.

Price pressures have been spurred by President Bola Tinubu's moves to end costly subsidies and devalue the local naira currency. Tinubu's administration hopes those reforms will shore up public finances and boost economic growth.

The central bank, which raised interest rates by 875 basis points last year to combat inflation, convenes its first rate-setting meeting of 2025 this week.