….consumers pay 47.18% higher for petrol
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that consumers paid higher for Automotive Gas Oil (AGO/diesel) in the month of April this year, with the price of the commodity surging to an average of N842.25 per litre.
The April 2023 price of diesel per litre represented a 28.69% higher than the N654.46 per litre consumers paid in April 2022.
The latest ‘Diesel Price Watch’ report published by the Bureau showed that on a month-on-month basis, the April 2023 price was a 0.17% increase from the N840.81 per litre consumers paid for the commodity in the preceding month (March) this year.
According to the statistics agency, in the month under review the highest diesel prices were recorded in Adamawa at N980.33 per litre, followed by Bauchi and Borno where consumers paid N934.46 per litre and N900.50 per litre respectively.
Conversely, report indicated that the lowest diesel costs were paid by consumers in Bayelsa at N708.04 per litre, Kebbi at N773.33 per litre and Anambra at N773.56 per litre.
A further analysis of the ‘Diesel Watch April 2023’ report’s data on zonal basis revealed that consumers in the North-Central zone paid an average of N873.22 per litre for the commodity in April this year while those in the North-West zone paid N828.97 per litre.
Also, the data showed diesel consumers in the North East zone paid N895.42 per litre for the commodity compared to their South-East zone counterparts that bought diesel at N809.29 per litre.
The NBS further clarified that in the South-West zone, buyers paid N830.57 per litre for diesel in the month under review while consumers in the South-South zone bought at N807.59 per litre.
The petroleum sector analysts believe that the surging price of the AGO (diesel), caused by inadequate local refining capacity, which is the primary source of power generation for most manufacturing and petroleum distribution and marketing companies in the country, is largely responsible for the surging inflation rate in the country.
Although the planned inauguration of the Dangote Refinery within the next few weeks is expected to bridge the supply gap , the industry experts still projected that continuous importation of the commodity due to a lack of refining capacity in the country would only make commodity more expensive in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, the statistics agency also reported that the average pump price per litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, that consumers paid in the month stood at N254, representing a decline by 3.87% from N264.29 per litre they paid in February.
However, when compared to April 2022, there was an increase of 47.18% in commodity’s price from N172.61 to N254 per litre in April this year.
The Bureau listed the states with the highest petrol prices in the month under review as including Taraba where consumers paid an average N320 per litre, Imo at N310.55 per litre, and Jigawa at N305 per litre.
On the other hand, it reported that the states with the lowest petrol prices were Sokoto at N195 per litre, Benue at N198.13 per litre, and Kogi at N206.11 per litre.
