According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Premium Motor Spirit Price Watch Report for July 2023, there was an increase of 215.96% in the average retail price of petrol from ₦190.01 recorded in July 2022, to ₦600.35 recorded in July 2023.
When the average price of the commodity in July was compared with the previous month (.i.e. June 2023), the average retail price increased by 9.99% from ₦545.83 to ₦600.35. The price of petrol has maintained a steady increase and has failed to remain within the official price bracket set by the federal government post-subsidy.
As of July 2022, the average price of petrol was ₦190.01 and over the next six months, the price of the commodity hovered around that price till December 2022 when it hit above the ₦200 mark. The spike in crude prices coupled with the subsidy removal took the price above the ₦500 mark in the first six months of 2023.
When each of the states is analysed, Borno, Abia and Gombe topped the list of states with the highest price paid per litre of petrol. The pump price of petrol was highest in Borno State as the commodity was sold at ₦657.27, Abia and Gombe States came behind, with ₦643.13 and ₦642.22 respectively.
Some other states like Edo, Kwara and Benue also recorded the lowest amount paid per litre of petrol with pump prices of ₦530.00, ₦535.44 and ₦537.00 per litre respectively.
The NBS data further revealed that the region with the highest average retail price of ₦630.13 was the North-East while the North Central region had the lowest price of ₦551.58.
Petrol pump price was recorded as ₦621.22 in the Northwest region, ₦617.18 in the Southwest region, ₦564.92 in the South-south region and ₦625.99 in the Southeast region.