The average retail price of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) in May 2024 skyrocketed to around ₦937 per litre in the northern regions of Nigeria, according to a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report, titled ‘Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (May 2024)’, revealed that Jigawa State recorded the highest petrol prices, with consumers paying an average of ₦937.50 per litre. This marks a continuous increase since President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023.
Overall, the average price of petrol nationwide stood at ₦769.62 per litre, reflecting a staggering 223.21 percent increase from May 2023, when the price was ₦238.11 per litre. Compared to April 2024, the average retail price saw a 9.75 percent rise from ₦701.24 per litre.
In the state profile analysis, following Jigawa’s highest price:
– Ondo State reported an average retail price of ₦882.67 per litre.
– Benue State reported an average retail price of ₦882.22 per litre.
Conversely, states with the lowest average retail prices were:
– Lagos State at ₦636.80 per litre.
– Niger State at ₦642.16 per litre.
– Kwara State at ₦645.15 per litre.
On a zonal basis:
– The North-West Zone had the highest average retail price of ₦845.26 per litre.
– The North Central Zone had the lowest at ₦695.04 per litre.
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The removal of the petrol subsidy has significantly impacted inflation rates, which reached 33.95 percent in May, with food inflation hitting 40 percent.
Despite the NBS report indicating a trend towards ₦1,000 per litre in the north, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that it will not raise petrol prices at its retail outlets across the country. NNPCL currently sells petrol at around ₦568 per litre, up from ₦238 per litre in May 2023.
