NBS Releases Average Price Of Petrol In March As Subsidy Removal Beckons

• The Nigerian government is set to remove fuel subsidy, setting the stage for significant increase in petrol pump price.

• Although the subsidy is not officially removed, oil marketers across the country have raised prices in the last few months.

• In March 2023, Nigerians paid 42.63% more than they paid for fuel in March 2022.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as, in March 2023 was N264.29.

The price indicated an increase of 42.63% relative to the value recorded in March 2022 (N185.30).

EDITOR’S PICKS

• INVESTIGATION: Controversy Trails Property Tussle Between Lagos Developers; Hakeem Olawuyi & Sikiru Nollah

• Matters Arising: Is The Obidient Movement Taking A Dark Turn?

• Fading Hope: The Unfulfilled Promise of Buhari’s Chibok Girls Rescue Pledge

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) made the disclosure in its PMS Price Watch report for March 2023 released on Saturday.

According to the report, the average price value in March 2023 increased by 0.20% from N263.76 in February 2023.

On state profile analysis, Imo state had the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) with N332.67, followed by Taraba with N330.00 and Borno with N324.55.

On the other hand, Benue recorded the lowest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) with N195.00, followed by Plateau with N196.79 and Nasarawa with N197.50.

“In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price in March 2023 with N306.00, while the North-Central had the lowest with N205.10,” the report reads.

In the Northwest, petrol cost N282.17 per litre; in the Northeast, it cost N289.56; the Southwest recorded N234.77 per litre; and the South-South paid N281.98 per litre in March 2023.

NBS says the fieldwork for the monthly report is done solely by over 700 Staff in all the States of the federation, supported by supervisors whom internal and external observers monitor.

“Fuel Prices are collected across all the 774 local governments across all States and the FCT from over 10,000 respondents and outlets and the estimates reflect the weights derived from estimates of household expenditures on fuel and the actual prices households bought those fuels,” the bureau says.

“The average prices are reported for each state and the country. The NBS audit team subsequently conducts randomly selected verification of prices recorded.”

FURTHER READING

• Lagos Tops List Of States With Highest Active Internet Subscribers In Q4 2022 – NBS

• Ramadan Charity Event Turns Deadly; At Least 78 Killed In Yemen Stampede

• Banana Island: Lagos Govt Inaugurates Technical Committee On Collapsed Building

Not all states and regions are paying the same prices for retail fuel across the country. This is because of logistics and distribution costs which vary according to the locations the product is being sent to.

Click to watch our video of the week: