Report:  Petrol Prices Soared 64%, Cooking Gas 60% in One Year

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The rising cost of energy has continued to take its toll on Nigerians, with petrol prices soaring by 64 per cent year-on-year, while the amount Nigerians buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, rose by 60 per cent.

Also, the average retail prices of diesel skyrocketed by 59.2 per cent y-o-y, while that of household kerosene increased by 50 per cent during the period under consideration.

Latest data released from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that for petrol, in the month of September, Katsina experienced the highest price, with residents buying at an average of N1,096/litre, while Rivers topped in terms  of cooking gas pricing at N7,285.71 for a 5kg cylinder.

Apart from the dynamics of the international oil market, which have seen crude oil rise above $80 per barrel, President Bola Tinubu‘s decision to remove subsidy on petrol and float the Naira have contributed immensely to the soaring energy prices.

While the official price by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) was N194 on May 29 when he took over the reins of power, the least amount the product is sold in any part of the country today is N1,030 per litre.

Besides, while the ‘managed’ FX window was about N460/$ and around N700/$ at the parallel market under President Muhammadu Buhari, under the current administration, the ‘floated’ naira is around N1,700/$, a massive devaluation of the local currency.

In the downstream, transportation of products is also a big challenge as tanker owners add a premium to their cost of operations due to bad roads and for replacement of spare parts.

“The average retail price paid by consumers for petrol for September 2024 was N1030.46, indicating a 64.55 per cent increase compared to the value recorded in September 2023, which was N626.21.

“Comparing the average price value with the previous month (August 2024), the average retail price increased by 24.08 per cent from N830.46. On state profile analysis, Katsina State had the highest average retail price for petrol, at N1096.15, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom States were next, with N1090.94 and N1085.71, respectively,” the NBS document stressed.

Conversely, in a curious turn, Yobe, Sokoto, and Kebbi States, which are up north, had the lowest average retail prices petrol at N939.38, N961.67, and N986.67 respectively.

On a zonal profile, the North-west zone had the highest average retail price of N1036.52, while the North-east Zone had the lowest price of N1,014.55.

For cooking gas, despite the federal government’s announcement of removal of Value Added Tax (VAT), the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder increased by 4.19 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N6,430.02 recorded in August 2024 to N6,699.63 in September 2024.

On a year-on year basis, this increased by 59.90 per cent from N4,189.96 in September 2023.

However, on a state profile analysis, Rivers recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas, with N7,285.71, followed by Gombe with N7,271.88, and Borno with N7,089.72.

On the other hand, Kebbi recorded the lowest price with N5,950.00, followed by Kano and Benue with N6,133.33 and N6,143.52 respectively. In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-east recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder with N6,929.02, followed by the South-east with N6,893.47 while the North-west recorded the lowest with N6,382.30.

Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder increased by 4.89 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N15,552.56 in August 2024 to N16,313.43 in September 2024.

On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 76.41 per cent from N9,247.40 in September 2023. On state profile analysis, Rivers recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder.

The average retail price of diesel paid by consumers also increased by 59.28 per cent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N890.80 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N1418.83 per litre in September 2024.

 On a month-on-month basis, an increase of 0.91 per cent was recorded from N1406.05 in August 2024 to an average of N1418.83 in September 2024.

Looking at the variations in the State prices, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in September 2024 included Bauchi State (N2061.67), Gombe State (N1615.00), and Akwa Ibom State (N1592.86).

Kerosene was not left out, as price in September 2024 was N1,957.44, showing an increase of 5.95 per cent compared to N1,847.59 recorded in August 2024.

“ On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 50.68 per cent from N1,299.03 in September 2023. On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in September 2024 was recorded in Abuja with N2,816.67, followed by Kaduna with N2,437.50 and Akwa Ibom with N2,411.11.

“On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa with N1,416.67, followed by Borno with N1,477.83 and Ekiti with N1,635.00.

“In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-entral recorded the highest average retail price per litre of kerosene with N2,194.05, followed by the North-west with N2,092.92, while the South-east recorded the lowest with N1,718.89,” the NBS data indicated.