According to National Bureau of Statistics figures assessed by our correspondent, the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as fuel, has increased by 81% over the last three years.
This occurred after research revealed that the Federal Government had subsidised petroleum products to the tune of around N5.83 trillion.
According to NBS data, the cost of gasoline increased from N145.41/liter to N263.76/liter between February 2020 and February 2023.
According to the NBS report, customers paid an average retail price of N263.76 for Premium Motor Spirit in February 2023, up 54.76% from the figure recorded in February 2022 (N170.42).
Likewise, comparing the average price with the previous month (January 2023), the average retail price increased by 2.58 per cent from N257.12.
At the onset of 2020, the average price paid by consumers for petrol increased by 0.08 per cent year-on-year and month-on-month by 0.03 per cent to N145.41 in February 2020 from N145.37 in January 2020, according to the NBS.
At the time, the Federal Government had paid about N134bn as fuel subsidy payment.
States with the highest average price of petrol were Abia (N146.87), Adamawa (N146.67) and Niger (N146.57). States with the lowest average price of premium motor spirit were Abuja (N143.67), Enugu (N144.50) and Lagos (N144.73) in 2020
In the last three years, fuel subsidy has gone from N134bn in 2020 to N1.43tn in 2021, N4.39tn in 2022 and a projected N3.63tn by June of 2023. This led to a total of N5.83tn in subsidy payments, excluding the figures for 2023.
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The Federal Government has continued to restate plans to remove fuel subsidy with a plan to deregulate the oil market by June this year.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said last week Nigeria had borrowed $800m from World Bank for the purpose of palliatives for Nigerians ahead fuel subsidy rmeival.
A September 2022 report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Initiative disclosed Nigeria had spent N13.7tn ($74.386bn) on fuel subsidies between 2005 and 2022.
However, there are fears that the removal of fuel subsidy might be drastic for the populace as the countdown to the June 2023 date for subsidy removal inches closer.
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