Petrol Price Increased To N630.63 In October -NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said that the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased from N195.29 in October 2022 to N630.63 in October 2023. It made the declaration in its Petrol Price Watch for October 2023 released in Abuja on Wednesday. It stated that the October 2023 price of N630.63 represented a 222.92 per cent increase over the price of N195.29 recorded in October 2022. “Comparing the average price value with the previous month of September 2023, the average retail price increased by 0.71 per cent from N626.21. “On state profiles analysis, Zamfara paid the highest average retail price of N659.38 per litre, followed by Gombe and Borno at N658.33 and N657.27, respectively. “Conversely, Lagos, Oyo, and Delta paid the lowest average retail price at N590.95, N592.19 and N599.38 respectively,’’ it stated. Analysis by zones showed that the North-East Zone recorded the highest average retail price in October 2023 at N644.16, while the South-West recorded the lowest price at N616.81 per litre. The NBS also stated in its Diesel Price Watch Report for October 2023 that the average retail price was N1004.98 per litre. It said that the October 2023 price of N801.09 per litre amounted to a 25.45 per cent increase over the N801.09 per litre paid in October 2022. “On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 12.82 per cent from the N890.80 per litre recorded in September 2023,’’ it added. On state profile analysis, the report said the highest average price of diesel in October 2023 was recorded in Plateau at N1150.00 per litre, followed by Nasarawa at N1138.00 and Benue at N1091.67. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Rivers State at N824.44 per litre followed by Borno at N827.27 and Kebbi State at N845.00 per litre. In addition, the analysis by zones showed that the North-Central had the highest price of N1090.69 per litre, while North- East recorded the lowest price at N947.32 per litre. 

Nigerians to pay more for petrol as ex-depot price hits N490/litre

As the ex-depot prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), rises to N490 per litre, some independent fuel marketers in Lagos are already selling the product at prices higher than the fixed rate of N488 per litre. According to unconfirmed reports, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited depot sells to major marketers at N466.52 per litre, private depots are however selling at N490 per litre. NNPCL stations are selling fuel at the fixed rate of N488 per litre, while major marketers sell fuel between N488 and N492 per litre. Independent marketers who purchase from private depots at N490 per litre are selling fuel to consumers at prices above N500 per litre. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his inauguration speech declared that the controversial petroleum subsidy regime was gone. He said rather the funds saved from the subsidies would be channeled to other critical areas.    The federal government for several decades, subsidised fuel and fixed retail prices of petroleum products. The payment has, however, threatened the nation’s fiscal position and impacted the government’s ability to fund developmental projects across the country.