A report by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has indicated that many Nigerians still pay far above the N185 per litre approved pump price of petrol amid fuel scarcity.
It was reported that members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and NNPCL Retail outlets, sold the product at N185 per litre to consumers, while members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on the other hand, sold PMS between N200 and N250 per litre.
However, according to the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) price watch of NBS for January 2023, Nigerians paid the sum of N257.12 per litre for the product on average.
It also noted that the average price in January 2023 was an annual increase of 54.52 per cent and a monthly increase of 24.70 per cent.
It read in part, “The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) for January 2023 was N257.12, indicating a 54.52 per cent increase relative to the value recorded in January 2022 (N166.40).
“Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. December 2022), the average retail price increased by 24.70 per cent from N206.19.”
Furthermore, the report indicated that Imo State had the highest average retail price for petrol at N332.14 per litre followed by Rivers at N327.14 and Akwa Ibom at N319.00.
It was also observed that Sokoto recorded the lowest average retail price for petrol at N191.43 per litre, followed by Plateau at N192.14 and Borno at N193.91.
The report added, “In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price in January 2023 with N307.85, while the North-Central had the lowest with N217.15.”
This high cost of petrol occurred as Nigerians battled with petrol scarcity and the country battled with rising fuel subsidy costs.
At the moment, queues at petrol stations have disappeared, however, reports say the fuel queues might soon return to filling stations soon if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited failed to ramp up importation and beef up petrol supplies across the country.
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
