In spite of government’s efforts to solve the lingering fuel crisis in the nation by fixing the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, at N145, most states sold the product at higher prices, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show.
Of the 36 states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, 25 states sold PMS above N145 per litre, giving more than 22 states in similar category in the previous month.
The average price paid by Nigerians for PMS rose to N147.20 in November by 0.16 percent, compared with the previous month and 1.27 percent relative to the same month in 2017.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer of crude oil and one of world’s biggest exporters, is challenged with the need to supply fuel to its growing population as it imports most of its fuel for domestic consumption. The country’s four refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day cannot operate at half of that volume. Consequently the country experiences recurring shortage of PMS, especially at festive periods.
In May 2016, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, announced an upward review of PMS pump price by the federal government from N86.50 to N145.00, and directed filling stations across the country not to sell above that price.
According to Kachikwu, the hike was the only way out of the exorbitant prices of between N150 and N250 per litre that Nigerians had been subjected to at many filling stations across the country.
Although the annual shortage of fuel seems to have disappeared this year, the NBS data show that the price of PMS in states like Kebbi, Kaduna, Taraba, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Abia and Benue was above N150.
While customers in states like Anambra, Edo and Rivers paid an average pump price N145 in the review month, those in Oyo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, Abuja, Jigawa, Sokoto and Imo bought PMS at lower prices.
