By Adedapo Adesanya
The average price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, shot up by 223.21 per cent to approximately N770 per litre in May 2024 from N238.11 per litre recorded in the corresponding period of 2023, the month that President Bola Tinubu announced the fuel subsidy removal.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) titled Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for May 2024, the average cost of the product increased on a month-on-month basis by 9.75 per cent from N701.24 per litre in April 2024.
Recall that in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, President Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy to lift a major burden off the back of the government, saying the money would be invested in other areas.
The announcement sparked the increase in fuel price from N197 to between N480 and N570 per litre, which immediately triggered a rise in transportation fares and prices of goods and services in the country.
In July 2023, the petrol pump price was subsequently reviewed upward to N617/litre at various outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Although there are disputes about the execution of the policy, the price has jumped by over 200 per cent as per the nation’s statistics office.
According to the report, Jigawa State residents paid the highest for petrol as it topped the price chart at N937.50 per litre, followed by Ondo and Benue States with N882.67 per litre and N882.22 per litre, respectively.
However, Lagos, Niger and Kwara states emerged with the lowest average retail prices for the product at N636.80, N642.16 and N645.15 respectively, according to the NBS report.
On the zonal profile, the North-West Zone had the highest average retail price of N845.26, while the North Central Zone had the lowest price of N695.04.
Meanwhile, the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) paid by consumers increased by 66.29 per cent to N1,403.96 per litre in May 2024 from N844.28 per litre recorded in May 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, a decrease of 0.78 per cent was recorded from N1,415.06 per litre in April 2024.
The report stated “ Looking at the variations in the state prices, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in May 2024 include Adamawa State (N1709.00), Sokoto State (N1675.00) and Bauchi (N1657.92). Furthermore, the top three lowest prices were recorded in the following State namely, Niger State (N1140.20), Kano State (N1153.33), and Oyo State (N1236.92).
The zonal representation of the average price of diesel showed that North-East Zone has the highest price of N1605.91 while South West Zone has the lowest price of N1303.60 when compared with other zones.
This comes as the average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in May 2024 was N1,450.35, indicating an increase of 0.74 per cent compared to N1,439.64 recorded in April 2024.
Modupe Gbadeyanka