The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) increased to N170.42 in February, according to new data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The country saw the re-emergence of fuel queues at filling stations in February following the importation of adulterated petrol into the country.
The Federal Government’s recommended retail price range for petrol is N162-N165 per litre but across Nigeria, especially in major cities, the price ranged from N170 to N200 per litre in February.
According to the NBS data, the average price of N170 per litre is the highest in 12 months. In the same period last year, the pump price of petrol averaged N166.24 per litre.
“On month-on-month, the average retail price increased from N166.40 in January 2022 to N170.42 in February 2022, showing an increase of 2.42 percent,” the report states.
The NBS said Kaduna State had the highest average retail price of petrol at N189.09 per litre, followed by Anambra (N184.09) and Kebbi (N180.00).
It said, “Conversely, Jigawa state recorded the lowest average retail price of petrol with N165.00, followed by Nasarawa and Benue with N165.25 and N165.36 respectively.
“Likewise, the highest average retail price was recorded in the South-East zone with N174.96 while the South-West had the least with N167.09.”
The government incurs subsidy on petrol which is expected to gulp N3trillion this year alone.
“Will oil prices increasing, the subsidy will even increase more than that. And the country will be left with no choice but to borrow more to fund it,” Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer at Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, said.
Read also: Petrol imports double to N3.96trn in one year
Yusuf said the removal of the subsidy might be politically difficult to handle because of the elections, and angry citizens because of poverty and anger. “So any little thing can trigger mass protest and unrest.”
Damilola Adewale, a Lagos-based economic analyst, said from an economic perspective, subsidy “is a huge strain on government finances and needs to be eliminated.”
Last month, BusinessDay had reported that the hike in petrol prices was as a result of petrol scarcity experienced in some parts of the country.
The downstream regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had blamed the scarcity in February on the importation of petrol with high methanol content. This led to a recall and the resultant scarcity of petrol.
Despite efforts to replace the adulterated products, consumers still found it difficult to find the products as many petrol stations were shut down.
Some Nigerians reported that their vehicles were damaged. “A lot of people have already complained that their vehicles have been damaged by the fuel already. My official vehicle is inclusive. If you can, don’t buy fuel for now,” warned a Twitter user.
Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, said last month that the Federal Government would compensate those whose vehicles were affected.
The scarcity led to the proliferation of black market operators who contributed to the spike in prices.
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