By Yemi Olakitan
Nigerians continue to suffer from the high cost of energy, with the average retail price of automotive gas oil (diesel) paid by consumers rising by 182.64 percent in a year.
According to the most recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, the price of one litre of gasoline increased from N289.37 in December 2021 to N817.86 in the same month in 2022.
Nigeria has experienced skyrocketing inflation in recent years, which has been brought on in part by rising energy costs, the naira’s depreciation against the dollar, the disruption of oil and gas production, and the misalignment of fiscal and monetary policies. Many businesses have continued to struggle for survival; some have had to halt operations due to rising diesel prices, while others have reduced the size of their workforce to reduce labour costs.
However, the NBS report covering last month revealed that, on a month-over-month (MoM) basis, the price of diesel climbed by 1.11 percent from N808.87 per litre reported in November 2022.
According to state profile study, Ebonyi had the highest average price of the commodity in December 2022 with N869.25, followed by Bauchi and Ondo with N860.00 and N856.36, respectively.
On the other hand, it was noted that Akwa Ibom had the lowest price, at N773.75, followed by Benue and Borno, all at N777.50.
However, it’s not just the prices of diesel that are having a bad effect on businesses and people. Analysis by zone revealed that the South-west had the highest price with N841.35, while the South-south recorded the lowest price with N798.54. The NBS also reported that from N3,594.81 in December 2021, the average retail price for replenishing a 5kg LPG or cooking gas cylinder grew by 27.00% year over year (YoY).
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However, it only slightly increased from N4,549.14 recorded in November 2022 to N4,565.56 in December 2022, or from 0.36 percent on a MoM basis.
Further study of the NBS data revealed that Plateau had the highest average price of N4,917.50, followed by Adamawa with N4,933.33 and Kwara with N4,950.00 for refilling a 5kg gas cylinder.
Anambra had the lowest price, N4,182.14, followed by Abia and Rivers, N4,196.15 and N4,207.27, respectively, according to the survey.
The average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg gas cylinder increased by 0.67 percent on a MOM basis from N10,180.88 in November 2022 to N10,248.97 in December 2022, according to analysis by zone. The North-central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling volume of gas with N4,841.07, followed by the North-east with N4,593.99, and the South-east recorded the lowest with N4,386.39. YoY, this increased from N7,332.04 in December 2021 by 39.78%.
According to the NBS study, Benue had the highest average retail price for filling a 12.5kg cylinder at N11,250.00, followed by Cross River and Ebonyi at N10,892.86 and N10,753.57, respectively.
On the other hand, Yobe had the lowest average price, N9,500.00, followed by Zamfara and Gombe, N9,706.25 and N9,750.00, respectively.
Similar to this, consumers paid an average retail price of N1,104.61 per litre of kerosene in December 2022, an increase of 1.94 percent over the N1,083.57 recorded in November 2022.
According to state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in December 2022 was recorded in Abuja with N1,383.33, followed by Akwa Ibom with N1,341.67, and Cross River with N1,300.00. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa with N864.58, Jigawa with N904.76 and Rivers with N916.67. On a YoY basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 136.04 percent The South-east had the highest average retail price per litre of home kerosene with N1,203.95, followed by the South-west with N1,177.89, while the North-West had the lowest average retail price with N1,011.49, according to the NBS.
The statement said, “On a YoY basis, this jumped by 137.15 per cent from N1,582.73 in December 2021,” adding that the average retail price per gallon of kerosene consumers paid in December 2022 was N3,753.38, up 4.42 percent from N3,594.44 in November 2022.
