Diesel Prices Rise by 210%, Kerosene 118%, Gas 86% as Energy Costs Take Toll on Nigerians

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

There appears to be no respite for Nigerians as the price paid for their energy needs have continued to skyrocket year-on-year, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A review of the information released by the NBS showed that the average retail price of diesel paid by consumers in September 2022 was N789.90 per litre, an increase of 210.20 per cent from N254.64 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year.

Nigeria has been faced with rising energy costs on the back of the war between Ukraine and Russia, the country’s inability to refine products locally as well as the impact of a tumbling naira exchange rate to the American dollar.

While the government has retained subsidy payment on petrol, it has deregulated the prices of diesel, gas and kerosene, essentially leaving the rates to market forces.

On a month-on-month basis, diesel price increased by 0.38 per cent from N786.88 per litre reported in August 2022 while on a state profile analysis, the highest average price of the product in September 2022 was recorded in Ondo with N859.23, followed by Ebonyi with N849.00 and Niger with N841.67.

According to the figures from the NBS, on the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Katsina with N710.00, followed by Yobe with N725.00 and Bayelsa with N726.67.

Furthermore, analysis by zone showed that the North-central had the highest price with N811.24, while the South-south recorded the lowest price with N762.74.

For kerosene, the average retail price per litre paid by consumers in September 2022 was N947.30, indicating an increase on a year-on-year basis, by 118.08 per cent from N434.39 in September 2021.

On a monthly basis, it rose 17.02 per cent compared to N809.52 recorded in August 2022. On a state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in September 2022 was recorded in Enugu with N1,272.50, followed by Ebonyi with N1,263.89 and Cross River with N1,187.50.

But the lowest price was recorded in Rivers with N686.27, followed by Bayelsa with N715.15 and Nasarawa with N735.29.

In addition, a zone-by-zone analysis showed that the South-east recorded the highest average retail price per litre of kerosene with N1,128.28, followed by the South-west with N1,068.18, while the North-west recorded the lowest with N868.89.

The average retail price per gallon of kerosene paid by consumers in September 2022 was N3,236.27, showing an increase of 9.79 per cent from N2,947.65 in August 2022. On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 110.04 per cent from N1,540.82 in September 2021.

However, on state profile analysis, Abuja recorded the highest average retail price per gallon of kerosene with N4,200.00, followed by Abia with N4,078.57 and Enugu with N4,052.38.

But Borno recorded the lowest price with N2,500.00, followed by Zamfara and Delta with N2,555.56 and N2,576.92 respectively.

Although regarded as the most consumed product by persons in the lowest wrung of the society, the price of kerosene skyrocketed after the government basically stopped importing it.

For Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas, the NBS price watch figures for September indicated that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased on a year-on-year basis by 86.62 per cent from N2,397.60 in September 2021, compared to the same period in 2022.

But it was up by 0.40 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,456.56 recorded in August 2022 to N4,474.48 in September 2022.

On state profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas with N4,950.00, followed by Niger with N4,941.67, and Adamawa with N4,928.29. Abia recorded the lowest price with N4,044.44, followed by Anambra and Kano with N4,100.00 and N4,109.67 respectively.

The North-central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of gas with N4,715.74, followed by the North-east with N4,539.41, while the South-south recorded the lowest with N4,317.92.

 Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg gas cylinder increased by 0.07 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N9,899.34 in August 2022 to N9,906.44 in September 2022. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 60.69 per cent from N6,164.97 in September 2021.

Cross River recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg LPG with N10,937.50, followed by Kogi with N10,760.00 and Oyo with N10,723.75. Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Yobe with N8,350.00, followed by Katsina and Taraba with N8,545.56 and N9,025.78 respectively.

The average retail price paid by consumers for petrol, the only regulated product in the market, for September 2022, it said, was N191.65, indicating a 16.26 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in September 2021 , which was N164.85.

Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. August 2022), the average retail price increased by 1.15 per cent from N189.46. But on state profile analysis, Kano State had the highest average retail price for petrol with N207.50, followed by Jigawa with N205.62 and Bayelsa with N204.27.

On the other hand, Delta had the lowest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) with N179.74, followed by Edo with N183.17 and Borno with N184.50.

 In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-west recorded the highest average retail price in September 2022 with N197.51, while the North-east had the lowest with N186.52.