Kano, Anambra and Niger are the top three states in Nigeria that recorded the highest average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) paid by consumers in September 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest diesel price watch report showed that Kano, Anambra and Niger had N967.8 per litre, N950.9 per litre and N950.5 per litre while the top three lowest prices were recorded in Bayelsa (N840.2), Katsina (N840.6) and Rivers (N840.8).
“South East zone has the highest price of N918.06 while South South zone has the lowest price N863.97 when compared with other zones,” the report said.
It said the average retail price of diesel across the country increased by 12.8 percent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N789.9 recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N890.8 in September.
“On a month-on-month basis, an increase of 4.27 percent was recorded from N854.3 in the preceding month of August to an average of N890.8 in September.”
Experts attributed the increase to the recent implementation of a 7.5 percent value-added tax (VAT) on imports of diesel by the federal government, the ban on the export of diesel fuel by Russia, and the sharp decline of the naira against the dollar.
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“The importers have been complaining about the exchange rate and that if caution is not exercised, it will rise even further,” Abdulkadir Mustapha, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria’s spokesperson in Borno State, said.
He said that diesel was selling for N,1030 per litre in some fuel stations in Delta State. “Although the product is sold in markets all over the nation, access to it is complicated by price.”
Although stakeholders have called the VAT waiver a temporary relief, they said it would only result in a N70 drop in diesel prices across the country.
Ayodele Oni, an energy law expert, said that there are different pump prices across the country because of demand and supply reasons.
“The forces of demand and supply dictate the prices in these states. In states where there is more demand, the price of diesel increases compared to states with lesser demand,” he said.
The largest consumers of diesels across these states are manufacturers, which use it to power their generators due to poor power supply across the country. This surge has pushed up their cost of production.
Earlier in October, as part of the Federal government’s concessions to organised labour groups to avert a total shutdown of the economy, President Bola Tinubu approved the suspension of 7.5 percent VAT on diesel imports into the country for six months.
