The average cost paid by Nigerian consumers for a litre of automotive gas oil popularly known as diesel recorded a significant increase of 28.12% from N224.9 per litre recorded in January 2021 to N288.1 in January 2022.
This is according to the diesel price watch report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, southern states paid the highest for a litre of diesel in the month under review, with South East citizens paying as high as N317.45 per litre, followed by the South West region with N314.25 a litre.
On the other hand, the North-Western areas paid the least for a litre of diesel at N243.92 in January 2022, followed by the North Eastern region with an average of N269.89 per litre, according to the country’s apex statistical body.
However, the price of diesel continues to experience a significant rise across the country, especially with the lingering fuel scarcity ravaging most states in the country. There have been sustained fuel scarcity in Lagos State and the federal capital territory in the past two weeks as imported adulterated fuel found its way into the market.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation withdrew the adulterated fuel from the market, which affected supply across some states, hence causing the price of petroleum product to rise significantly, especially in Lagos and Abuja.
Considering the price per state, the top three states with the highest average price for the product in January 2022 were Ebonyi (N343), Edo (N331.64), and Osun (N328.89). On the flip side, the states with the lowest average prices per litre were Yobe, Kano and Sokoto with N216.67, N224.29, and N225.73 respectively.
The report had identified liquid fuel as one of the core items that recorded the highest price increase, which drove the 13.87% year-on-year increase in the core index.