Peter Obi Defends Party Switch, Blasts Nigeria’s Political Class at NDC Convention

Peter Obi, presidential hopeful of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has defended his movement across political parties while taking a swipe at critics who mocked his political realignments. In a lengthy statement shared on his verified X handle, Obi justified his decision by quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He said, “Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others change their principles for the sake of their party.” Obi spoke on Saturday after attending the first convention of the NDC in Abuja, describing the gathering as evidence of Nigerians’ determination for political change and democratic renewal. The former Anambra State governor expressed appreciation to the NDC leadership, led by Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, for welcoming him and his supporters during what he described as a critical period in Nigeria’s political journey. He also acknowledged the African Democratic Congress (ADC), particularly former Senate President David Mark, for providing what he called a democratic platform after ongoing litigation reportedly forced him and others out of the Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). According to Obi, the spirit of solidarity among opposition groups must remain central to efforts aimed at rebuilding Nigeria. The opposition figure accused members of the political class of abandoning democratic values and enabling what he described as the systematic destruction of democracy in the country. “Those who once fought for justice now openly celebrate electoral injustice,” Obi stated. He further alleged that intimidation, coercion, manipulation and political gangsterism were increasingly being deployed against opposition voices, warning that Nigeria’s democracy was facing severe threats. Obi said Nigeria was drifting without direction and suffering under worsening economic and security conditions. “Across the world, Nigeria is increasingly described as a failing and disgraced nation. This is not the destiny God ordained for our great country,” he said. The former presidential candidate pointed to what he described as failures in governance, including weak accountability, corruption, poor regulatory standards and the erosion of the separation of powers. He also highlighted rising poverty, unemployment, inflation and insecurity, claiming that more than 140 million Nigerians currently live in multidimensional poverty. According to him, businesses are shutting down while farmers can no longer safely access their farmlands due to insecurity. Obi lamented the increasing cases of kidnapping, displacement and violent attacks across the country, saying hundreds of innocent Nigerians had lost their lives in recent weeks. He questioned who speaks for struggling Nigerians, including grieving parents, unemployed youths and families battling rising hardship. “Our present tragedy is not accidental,” Obi said. “It is the direct consequence of years of deliberate sabotage by a political class that prospers by dividing the people and weakening the nation.” He maintained that Nigeria possesses abundant human and natural resources but continues to suffer because leadership has failed to prioritise the common good. Calling for national unity and reform, Obi urged Nigerians to reject despair and work towards rebuilding the country on the foundations of justice, equity, competence, productivity and accountability. “Our choice as a people is therefore clear: whether to surrender to despair and national decline, or to summon the courage to rescue our country and rebuild it,” he added.

Tinubu’s Tax Reset and the Rising Cost of Living: Who Really Pays in 2026?

By the start of 2026, the Nigerian economy had crossed a critical psychological threshold. For millions of households, survival, not prosperity, had become the central economic concern. Food prices climbed relentlessly, transportation costs ballooned, electricity tariffs rose, and the naira’s weakness continued to hollow out purchasing power. Wages, meanwhile, remained stubbornly stagnant. In one word: Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis swirl. This is the economic terrain into which President Bola Tinubu’s administration has launched Nigeria’s most aggressive fiscal overhaul in decades. Framed as reform, sold as necessity, and defended as inevitability, the new tax regime arrives not as a technocratic adjustment but as an additional burden on a population already stretched to its limits. The question confronting Nigerians in 2026 is no longer whether reform is needed, but who bears the cost, and who decides how much pain is acceptable. Reform in the Middle of Hardship The removal of fuel subsidies unleashed a cascade of price increases that reverberated through every sector of the economy. Transport fares surged, food inflation accelerated, and informal businesses, already operating on thin margins, struggled to survive. Electricity tariff hikes followed, further eroding household incomes and raising production costs. Currency policy adjustments compounded the crisis, making imports more expensive and local substitutes scarcer. Rather than pause to stabilize living conditions, the government pressed ahead with sweeping tax reforms. For many Nigerians, the timing alone felt punitive: a state demanding more at the precise moment its citizens had less to give. A New Tax Regime, Old Trust Deficit The overhaul rests on four major laws that replace Nigeria’s chaotic tax framework with a centralized, digitally monitored system. On paper, the logic is compelling: fewer taxes, better enforcement, broader compliance. In reality, centralization without trust risks becoming coercion by another name. Progressive tax bands and exemptions for low-income earners are cited as evidence of fairness. Yet the lived experience tells a different story. Middle-income Nigerians comprising, civil servants, professionals, and small traders, are watching their take-home pay shrink as inflation bites and long-standing reliefs disappear. What remains is a widening gap between what the state demands and what it delivers. “Widening the Net” or Tightening the Noose? Officials insist the reforms are about widening the tax net rather than increasing the burden. But a net cast over a struggling economy does not magically become lighter because it is broader. When energy costs soar, food prices spike, and wages lag inflation, taxation, no matter how elegantly designed, feels punitive. The promise that higher revenue will eventually translate into better schools, hospitals, and infrastructure rings hollow in a country where decades of oil wealth failed to produce durable public value. Nigerians have heard this argument before. Each time, they were asked to be patient. Each time, patience yielded diminishing returns. VAT and Regional Fault Lines: Old Battles, New Weapons No element of Tinubu’s tax reset better exposes Nigeria’s unresolved national question than the proposed restructuring of the Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing formula. Presented by the government as a neutral, efficiency-driven move toward derivation, the reform has instead resurrected the ghosts of Nigeria’s most bitter fiscal conflicts, conflicts never resolved, only postponed. By tilting VAT allocation more decisively toward where consumption and economic activity are recorded, the reform overwhelmingly favours Lagos and a handful of commercially dominant states in the South-West. Lagos’s outsized contribution to VAT revenue is frequently cited to justify this shift. The logic is straightforward: where revenue is generated, revenue should remain. But Nigeria’s history warns that straightforward logic often produces dangerous outcomes. In the First Republic, a strong derivation principle allowed regions to retain up to 50 percent of revenues from cocoa, groundnuts, and palm produce. That system collapsed not because derivation was inefficient, but because widening regional disparities turned it into a political weapon. The fiscal tensions it generated contributed to the instability that ended civilian rule. After the civil war, military governments centralized revenue sharing not out of ideological preference, but because national survival required redistribution. Oil revenues were pooled to hold a fractured country together, not to reward efficiency. The VAT debate now retraces that path, without the trauma that once forced compromise. Many Northern states, heavily dependent on VAT allocations to fund basic services, see the reform not as fiscal federalism but as fiscal punishment. Their argument is blunt: productivity cannot be rewarded fairly in a country where productivity itself has been shaped by decades of uneven federal investment, insecurity, and policy bias. When ports, rail lines, industrial clusters, and financial infrastructure are concentrated in one region, derivation ceases to be neutral, it becomes structural exclusion. The echoes of the Niger Delta struggle are unmistakable. For decades, oil-producing communities watched wealth flow to Abuja while bearing the environmental and social costs of extraction. Today, roles appear reversed: commercially dominant states demand to keep what they generate, while poorer regions warn that redistribution, the glue of the federation, is being quietly dismantled. The federal government’s response, that states should simply “grow their economies,” rings hollow in regions battling insurgency, banditry, collapsing education systems, and mass poverty. Growth is not summoned by rhetoric; it is enabled by security, infrastructure, and human capital, public goods that require funding in the first place. History is unambiguous: Nigeria’s most destabilizing crises often begin as revenue disputes disguised as technical reforms. When groups feel fiscally cornered, resistance follows, political, legal, and sometimes worse. Wether anyone agrees or not, a VAT regime that sharpens inequality without robust equalization mechanisms is not reform, it is deferred instability. The question therefore becomes, wether Nigeria is prepared for another combustive civil disorder? The Lagos Model Goes National The reforms unmistakably bear the imprint of the Lagos model that is notorious for its centralized authority, digital surveillance, and uncompromising enforcement. In Lagos, this model thrived on a dense commercial base and a large formal sector. Nationally, it risks flattening Nigeria’s economic diversity into a one-size-fits-all template. Equally corrosive is the perception, fair or not, that fiscal power is increasingly concentrated within a narrow

Food prices surge by over 180% in Nigeria

By Doris Isreal Ijeoma Economic hardship has worsened for Nigerians as prices of garri, beans, yam, and tomatoes increased by at least 180 percent in June 2024, compared to the same period last year amid looming planned nationwide protests. The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its June Selected Food report released on Wednesday. The report considered prices of staple foods, including garlic, beans, tomatoes, yam and potatoes. The data showed that food prices increased on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis. According to specific food item analysis, one kilogram of garri (white) went up by 181.66 percent on a year-on-year basis from N403.15 in June 2023 to N1,135.51 in June 2024, while there was an increase of 1.86 percent on a month-on-month basis. Also, the price of 1kg of beans brown (sold loose) stood at N2,292.76, indicating a rise of 252.13 percent YoY from N651.12 recorded in June 2023. Similarly, 1kg of yam tuber increased by 295.79 percent on a year-on-year basis from N510.77 in June 2023 to N 2,021.55 in May 2024. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 52.87 percent from N 1,322.36 in May 2024 to N 2,021.55 in June 2024. Also, the price of tomatoes (1kg) increased Year-on-Year (YoY) by 320.67 percent to N2,302.26 in June 2024 from N547.28 in June of last year (2023). The report added that there was also a notable price increase of Irish potato by 288.5 percent on a year-on-year basis from N623.75 in June 2023 to N2,423.27 in June 2024. On a state-by-state level analysis, Lagos state recorded the highest price of 1kg tuber of yam at N3,376.54, while Adamawa recorded the lowest price at N1,100.00. Gombe recorded the highest average price of 1kg Garri (white) sold loose at N1,619.27, while the lowest was reported in Taraba at N900. This comes as June’s core and food inflation stood at 34.19 percent and 40.87 percent respectively. The implication is that the purchasing power of more Nigerians will continue to decline, worsening the misery index. The development comes as Nigerians gear up for a planned national protest scheduled for 1st August, 2024. Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had called on the citizens to shelve the planned protests. According to him, the government needed time for its policies, including a new minimum wage of N70,000 to impact Nigerians positively. The government’s plea comes as Nigerian governors and ministers target dialogue to halt the planned protest.

BREAKING: Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rises to 33.95%

Nigeria’s annual inflation rate climbed to 33.95 per cent in May 2024, up from 33.69 per cent recorded in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This increase marks a rise of 0.26 percentage points month-on-month. Compared to May 2023, when the inflation rate stood at 22.41 per cent, the current figure reflects a significant year-on-year increase of 11.54 percentage points, illustrating a sharp uptick in inflationary pressures over the past year. On a month-on-month basis, the NBS reported that inflation for May 2024 was 2.14 per cent, slightly lower than the 2.29 per cent recorded in April 2024. This indicates a moderated pace of increase in the average price level compared to the previous month. In terms of food prices, the inflation rate accelerated to 40.66 per cent year-on-year in May 2024, marking an increase of 15.84 percentage points from May 2023, when it was 24.82 per cent. The sharp rise in food inflation highlights continued challenges in food affordability and accessibility across Nigeria.

CBN Eyes Explicit Inflation-Targeting Framework To Enhance MP Effectiveness

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to adopt an explicit inflation-targeting framework to enhance the effectiveness of its monetary policy. The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso who disclosed this in Lagos while unveiling his policy direction at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) bankers’ night, said that the details and requirements for this framework are currently being finalized alongside the fiscal authorities. He said the CBN will provide forward guidance, enhance transparency, and maintain effective communication with the public to anchor expectations and build trust among stakeholders. He said under the economic agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the government has set an ambitious goal of achieving a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.0 trillion over the next seven years, with clearly defined priority areas and strategies. He said attaining this substantial target necessitates sustainable and inclusive economic growth at a significantly higher pace than current levels. The administration has already commenced this journey through fiscal reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market rate.    On achieving President Bola Tinubu’s Agenda, he  said Nigerian banks do not have sufficient capital in servicing a $1.0 trillion economy in the near future. He said the first step to be taking by the CBN will be directing banks to increase their capital while technology will continue to play a critical role in delivering financial services and enhancing financial inclusion. “Therefore, we must make difficult decisions regarding capital adequacy. As a first step, we will be directing banks to increase their capital,” he added. He stated that from his observation some licensees are operating outside the approved activities, breaching the boundaries set for them, insisting that any intentional or unintended non-compliance will be subject to sanctions, as operators have the responsibility to ensure that they are licensed for the activities they undertake. Speaking further he said “Concurrently, as we conduct a comprehensive review of the licensing framework for payment services, we will engage in extensive consultations to develop a new regulatory and compliance framework that is suitable for the technology-driven payment services sector. “Looking ahead for the industry, banks should reassess the responsible banking framework to ensure that the requirements are effectively integrated into their strategies. I am aware that some banks have made commendable progress in this regard. “The Central Bank of Nigeria is taking steps to enhance its in-house capacity so that it can assist other banks that still have progress to make in implementing their sustainability principles. The governor said the primary mandate of the CBN is to ensure price stability, in addition to other objectives such as issuing legal tender currency, safeguarding external reserves, promoting a sound financial system, and providing economic and financial advice to the government. He mentioned that  In line with CBN strategy to refocus on its core mandate, the CBN will discontinue direct quasi-fiscal interventionist activities and instead utilize orthodox monetary policy tools for implementing monetary policy. According to him “Our monetary policies will aim to achieve price stability, foster sustainable economic growth, stabilize the exchange rate of the naira, and reduce interest rates to facilitate borrowing and investments in the real sector. In order to ensure the proper functioning of domestic and foreign currency markets, clear, transparent, and harmonized rules governing market operations are essential. “New foreign exchange guidelines and legislation will be developed, and extensive consultations will be conducted with banks and FX market operators before implementing any new requirements” The CBN governor pointed out that the major challenges affecting the nation’s economy include high and rising inflation, inadequate foreign exchange supply, depreciation of the exchange rate, limited external reserves, weakened output, and high unemployment. These challenges according to him have led to increased interest rates, discouraging investments in productive activities. He said within the banking system, high inflation has affected asset quality and solvency ratios. Additionally, the persistent depreciation of the naira poses a significant risk for domestic banks with foreign exchange exposures. He assured Nigerians that while it is indeed a formidable challenge, it is not insurmountable, adding that with the right policy measures, we can overcome these obstacles and pave the way for progress and prosperity. He said the removal of petrol subsidy and the adoption of a floating exchange rate, among other government policies, are anticipated to have positive effects on the economy in the medium-term. These measures are expected to enhance investor confidence, attract capital inflows, stimulate domestic investment, and ultimately improve the level of external reserves. Additionally, they are expected to contribute to the stabilization of the domestic currency. He said despite the challenging global and domestic macroeconomic environment, Nigeria’s financial sector has demonstrated resilience in 2023, with key indicators of financial soundness largely meeting regulatory benchmarks. He mentioned that stress tests conducted on the banking industry also indicate its strength under mild-to-moderate scenarios of sustained economic and financial stress, although there is room for further strengthening and enhancing resilience to shocks. He said although the banking sector demonstrated soundness and resilience, there is still much work to be done in fortifying the industry for future challenges. He said in recent years, the continuous decline in Nigeria’s crude oil production has further weakened our already inadequate economic diversification. This has led to a decline in government revenue and foreign exchange inflows, while simultaneously witnessing a growth in public expenditures and a deterioration in macroeconomic indicators, which has constrained our policy options. Consequently, we have seen the fiscal deficit and public debt increase, placing additional strain on external reserves and contributing to exchange rate instability.

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. 

Average Price Of 5kg Cooking Gas Hits 8.89% -NBS

The average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 8.89% on a month-on-month basis from N4,189.96 recorded in September 2023 to N4,562.51 in October 2023. In its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch (October 2023), the bureau noted that on a year-on-year basis, it increased by 1.76% from N4,483.75 in October 2022. On state profile analysis, Kano recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder cooking gas with N5,181.43, followed by Adamawa with N5,142.86, and Ogun with N5,093.75. On the other hand, Ebonyi recorded the lowest price with N3,971.43, followed by Osun and Edo with N4,000.00 and N4,025.00 respectively. “In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-West recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder cooking gas with N4,738.20, followed by the North-Central with N4,662.62, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N4,088.65. “Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 14.04% on a month-on-month basis from N9,247.40 in September 2023 to N10,545.87 in October 2023. “On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 4.93% from N10,050.53 in October 2022. On state profile analysis, Edo recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas with N12,536.88, followed by Jigawa with N12,050.00 and Delta with N11,987.50. Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Zamfara with N9,050.00, followed by Lagos and Oyo with N9,071.05 and N9,407.14 respectively,” the statistics bureau stated. Analysis by zone showed that the South-South recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder cooking gas with N11,480.60, followed by the North-Central with N10,683.97, while the South-East recorded the lowest price with N9,847.42.

Petrol Increased To N626.21 In September- NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased from N191.65 in September 2022 to N626.21 in September 2023. It made the declaration in its Petrol Price Watch for September 2023 released in Abuja on Saturday. It stated that the September 2023 price of N626.21 represented a 226.75 per cent increase over the price of N191.65 recorded in September 2022. “Comparing the average price value with the previous month of August 2023, the average retail price increased by 0.08 per cent from N626.70. “On state profiles analysis, Taraba paid the highest average retail price of N665.56 per litre, followed by Borno and Benue at N657.37 and N641.29, respectively. “Conversely, Rivers, Delta and Jigawa paid the lowest average retail prices at N602.55, N605.88 and N617.42, respectively,’’ it stated. Analysis by zones showed that the North-East recorded the highest average retail price in September 2023 at N638.33, while the South-South recorded the lowest at N618.47 per litre. The NBS also stated in its Diesel Price Watch Report for September 2023 that the average retail price was N890.80 per litre. It explained further that the September 2023 price of N890.80 per litre amounted to a 12.77 per cent increase over the N789.90 per litre paid in September 2022. “On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 4.27 per cent from the N854.32 per litre recorded in August 2023,’’ it added. On state profile analysis, the report said the highest average price of diesel in September 2023 was recorded in Kano at N967.78 per litre, followed by Anambra at N950.95 per litre and Niger at N950.55 per litre. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa at N840.16 per litre followed by Katsina at N840.55 per litre and Rivers at N840.82 per litre. In addition, the analysis by zones showed that the South-East has the highest price at N918.06 per litre, while the South-South recorded the lowest price at N863.97 per litre. 

Diminishing Naira Will Push Inflation To 18-Year High Of 27.67% – Rewane

Chief executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane has projected that inflation is set to rise to 27.57 per cent due to a weak naira. This is the ninth consecutive rise in inflation rates.Analysts say it would represent the highest figure ever reached since September 2005.“Nigeria’s headline inflation is expected to increase again in September, rising to 27.57 per cent from 25.80 per cent in August. “Price increases were most notable in the food basket, predominantly commodities with high import content such as flour, semovita, noodles, and sugar. “With prices rising, fingers are pointing towards the exchange rate as the major inflation culprit. The naira crossed the psychological threshold of N1,000/$ in the parallel market, pushing up imported inflation despite the relative stability in global food prices. The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) food price index was relatively flat at 121.5 points (pts) in September.”, said Rewane. Apart from the weak naira, drivers of inflation includes higher logistics costs and money supply growth (36 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), saying the price of diesel, the major fuel used by trucks for logistics and distribution purposes, surged to a record high of N1,030/litre during the period. “Notably, month-on-month inflation, which is a more current measure of price movement, is expected to decline marginally to 2.78 per cent from 3.18 per cent in August, largely due to the harvest season impact. This suggests that inflation is likely to reach an inflection point and could begin to taper in the first quarter of 2024.

Average Price Of 5kg Cooking Gas Stood At N4,115.32 In August –NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased from N4,072.87 recorded in July to N4,115.32 in August 2023. This is contained in the Bureau’s “Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for August 2023 released on Monday in Abuja. The report said the August 2023 price represented a 1.04 per cent increase, compared to what was obtained in July 2023. However, the average price of 5kg of cooking gas decreased on a year-on-year basis by 7.66 per cent from N4,456 recorded in August 2022 to N4,115.32 in August 2023. On state profile analysis, the report showed that Kwara recorded the highest average price at N4,816.67 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by Benue at N4,766.67, and Zamfara at N4,756.25. It said on the other hand, Ondo recorded the lowest price at N3,299.29, followed by Ekiti and Nasarawa at N3,330.00 and N3,533.33 respectively. Analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price at N4,501.26, followed by the North-West at N4,340.50 “The South-West recorded the lowest retail price at N3,3737.12,” the NBS said. Also, the NBS said the average retail price for 12.5kg cooking gas increased by 0.35 per cent on a month-on-month basis, from N9,162.11 in July 2023 to N9,194.41 in August 2023. However, the report said the average price of 12.5kg cooking gas dropped by 7.12 per cent on a year-on-year basis, from N9,899.34 recorded in August 2022 to N9,194.41 in August 2023. On state profile analysis, it showed that Cross River recorded the highest average price at N10,172.83 for 12.5kg cooking gas, followed by Ogun at N9,963.64 and Nasarawa at N9,883.37. On the other hand, the report showed that Adamawa recorded the lowest price at N7,597.92, followed by Borno at N8,103.69 and Gombe at N8,173.44. Analysis by zone showed that the South-South recorded the highest average retail price at N9,569.58 for 12.5kg, followed by the South-West at N9,344.17. The report said the North-East recorded the lowest price at N8,631.95. Similarly, the average retail price per litre of Kerosene rose to N1,272.40 in August 2023 on a month-on-month basis, showing an increase of 0.92 per cent, compared to N1,260.81 recorded in July 2023. According to its National Kerosene Price Watch for August 2023, on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of kerosene rose by 57.18 per cent from N809.52 in August 2022. On state profile analysis, the report showed that Adamawa recorded the highest average price at N1,745.83 per litre of kerosene in August 2023, followed by Benue at N1,468.33 and Abuja at N1,486.89. “On the other hand, Jigawa recorded the lowest price at N1,000 followed by Edo at N1,104.78 and Kaduna at N1,121.79.” The NBS said the analysis further showed that the North-East recorded the highest average retail price per litre of kerosene at N1,370.64, followed by the South-East at N1,332.49. It said the North-West recorded the lowest average retail price per litre of kerosene at N1,163.25. The report said the average retail price per gallon of kerosene paid by consumers in August 2023 was N4,351.53, indicating a 1.06 per cent increase from N4,306.07 in July 2023. “On a year-on-year basis, the average price per gallon of kerosene increased by 47.63 per cent from N2,947.65 recorded in August 2022.” On state profile analysis, it showed that Lagos recorded the highest average price at N5,350.83 per gallon of kerosene, followed by Katsina at N4,991.85 and Borno at N4,897.47. On the other hand, the report said Delta recorded the lowest price at N2,945.71, followed by Rivers and Oyo at N3,287.50 and N3,711.79, respectively. Analysis by zone showed that the North-East recorded the highest average price per gallon of Kerosene at N4,637.71, followed by the South-East at N4,590.69. The report said the South-South recorded the lowest average price per gallon of Kerosene at N3,727.30.