The average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) in May 2024 soared to around ₦937 per liter in Northern Nigeria especially Jigawa State, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report “Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (May 2024)” revealed that on a state profile analysis, Jigawa State had the highest petrol price at ₦937.50 per liter. This reflects a continuous rise in prices since the removal of the petrol subsidy by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
The average price of petrol was ₦769.62, marking a 223.21% increase compared to ₦238.11 in May 2023.
Similarly, comparing the average price value with the previous month (i.e. April 2024), the average retail price increased by 9.75 per cent from ₦701.24.
On State profile analysis, Jigawa State had the highest average retail price for the commodity at ₦937.50, Ondo and Benue States were next, with ₦882.67 and N882.22, respectively.
On the other hand, Lagos, Niger, and Kwara States had the lowest average retail petrol prices, at ₦636.80, ₦642.16, and ₦645.15 respectively.
On the zonal profile, the North-West had the highest average retail price of ₦845.26, while the North Central had the lowest at ₦695.04.
The removal of petrol subsidies led to a spike in the inflation rate, which reached 33.95% in May, with food inflation hitting 40%, according to the NBS.
The NBS’s latest release on pump prices heading towards ₦1,000 per litre in the North, comes on the heels of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), saying that it would not increase petrol prices in its retail outlets across the country.
The company currently sells at around ₦568 per litre at its retail outlets, from around ₦238 as of May 2023, according to NBS.
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