Petrol prices in Nigeria hovered around N626/liter in September 2023

The average petrol price that customers paid in September 2023 was N626.21 per liter, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. This is a 0.08% drop from the N626.70 reported in August 2023.

Taraba State had the highest average retail price of N665.56 for gasoline, followed by Borno and Benue States at N657.37 and N641.29, respectively. On the other hand, Jigawa States and Delta had the highest average retail prices for gasoline, at N617.42 and N605.88, respectively, while Rivers had the lowest average retail prices. The difference in price between the most and least expensive states is roughly N55, which represents the expense of moving petroleum from the southern to the northern regions of the nation.

PMS increased by more than 226.75% year over year from N191.65 per liter in September 2022. The government’s decision to discontinue fuel subsidies, as outlined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), is the cause of the price increase. High PMS prices were partially caused by depreciating currencies and high crude oil prices on global markets.

To mitigate the negative consequences of high PMS prices on household wellbeing, immediate policy steps are needed. Targeted monetary transfers should be made to protect the households who have been struck the hardest. A portion of the money saved from fuel subsidies might be put into expanding public transportation and upgrading transportation infrastructure, which would help to offset rising transportation expenses. To win over the public’s trust, the government must be open about how it uses the money it saves from gasoline subsidies.