Despite N8trn Subsidy Payment, Petrol Price Jumps 54% in One Year

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Despite the expenditure of a cumulative sum of N8 trillion on petrol subsidy in 2022 and the projection till June 2023, Nigerians spent an extra 54 per cent of their incomes buying the product during the period, a new report by the state-controlled National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has indicated.

According to the February data released by the NBS, the average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol in February 2023 was N263.76, indicating a 54.76 per cent increase when compared to the value of N170.42 recorded in February last year.

The price of petrol, a key fuel used in Nigeria, has however, more than doubled since 2015 when the Muhammadu Buhari administration took over the reins of government, increasing from the N87 official rate at the time to N194, although Nigerians now rarely get it at the official price at the pumps.

But comparing the average price with the previous month, that is, January 2023, the average retail price of petrol increased by 2.58 per cent from N257.12, according to the NBS report.

In 2022, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) said it spent 4.39 trillion naira ($9.7 billion) on a petrol subsidy. It also did not remit funds to federal accounts last year.

Incapable of refining a drop of fuel for its 200, million people, Nigeria imports nearly all its products because local refineries have been shut down due to years of neglect.

In the first half of this year, during which the government expects to halt the largely opaque spending, the Buhari government has made a provision of N3. 36 trillion for the purpose after an 18-month extension announced in early 2022. In total, Nigeria will spend N8 trillion during the period.

However, on a state profile analysis, the NBS stated that Jigawa state had the highest average retail price for petrol during the period, with N329.17, followed by Rivers and Ebonyi with N323.33 and N317.14 respectively.

On the other hand, Niger State had the lowest average retail price with N198.50, followed by Plateau with N198.71 and Abuja with N200.00. In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-East had the highest average retail price in February 2023 with N306.86, while the North-Central had the lowest with N215.01.

Similarly, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas increased by 0.26 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,588.75 recorded in January 2023 to N4,600.57 in February 2023.

But on a year-on-year basis, this rose by 24.05 per cent from N3,708.58 in February 2022. In the same vein, on state profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of LPG with N4,962.86, followed by Adamawa with N4,914.00, and Niger with N4,907.50.

However, Enugu recorded the lowest price with N4,179.41, followed by Rivers and Abia with N4,204.44 and N4,220.00 respectively.

In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas with N4,845.44, followed by the North-West with N4,629.19, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N4,428.97.

Furthermore, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg of gas declined 0.23 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N10,277.17 in January 2023 to N10,253.39 in February 2023 while on a year-on-year basis, it rose by 37.67 per cent from N7,447.79 in February 2022.

Besides, the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel paid by consumers increased by 168.26 per cent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N311.98 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N836.91 per litre in February 2023.

On a month-on-month basis, an increase of 0.98 per cent was recorded from N828.82 in the preceding month of January to an average of N836.91 in February 2023.

Looking at the variations in the state prices, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in February 2023 were Bauchi (N904.33), Abuja (N885.00) and Adamawa (N873.33).

 Besides, the top three lowest prices were recorded in Bayelsa (N767.14), Katsina (N778.75) and Edo (N789.43). The zonal representation of average price diesel showed that the North-Central had the highest price of N850.65 while the South-South zone had the lowest price N814.63 when compared with other zones.

For the retail price per litre of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in February 2023, it was N1,173.89, indicating an increase of 1.78 per cent compared to N1,153.40 recorded in January 2023.

But on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 160.48 per cent from N450.66 in February 2022. On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in February 2023 was recorded in Plateau with N1,550.00, followed by Abuja with N1,473.33 and Adamawa with N1,438.10.

On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Nasarawa with N923.81, followed by Katsina with N945.83 and Sokoto with N956.94.

 In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-West recorded the highest average retail price per litre of kerosene with N1,259.96, followed by the South-East with N1,255.12, while the North-West recorded the lowest with N976.24.

The average retail price per gallon of kerosene paid by consumers in February 2023 was N3,926.23, showing an increase of 1.03 per cent to N3,886.11 in January 2023, while on a year-on-year basis, this increased by 151.72 per cent from N1,559.78 in February 2022.

Although kerosene is the fuel used by the poor and vulnerable, the price of the product has become unaffordable, emerging the most expensive to buy in recent years.