Premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, continued to increase in response to market dynamics, especially the crude oil prices at the international market and exchange rates of the naira to the dollars.
This reflected in the latest data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which showed that subsidy removal caused a spike in the pump prices of petrol in the last one year.
Premium motor spirit witnessed the highest increase in the South East and North East geopolitical zones of the country, with both regions plagued by insecurity while in addition to that, the distance factor contributed more to the challenges of the North East geopolitical zone.
Whereas the average year-on-year increase in a litre of petrol in July nationwide was 215.95 percent from N190.01 per litre last year July to N600.35 litre as of July 2023, the increase in the pump price of a litre of PMS was 236.54 percent in the South East zone from N186.01 in July 2022 to N625.99 a litre in July 2023.
Also, a litre of PMS rose by 226.54 percent in the North East zone from N192.86 a litre as of July 2022 to N630.13 a litre this year’s July.
With an increase of 226.02 percent, wherein PMS rose from N190.54 in July 2022 to N621.22 in July 2023, the North West geopolitical zone ranked third among the zones in the country.
South West came fourth as it witnessed an annual increase of 223.07 percent in pump price of PMS from N191.03 last year July to N617.18 a litre as of July 2023.
Meanwhile, Nigerians residing in the south-south geopolitical zone were the most fortunate ones as the annual increase in the price of a litre of PMS, which was at 206.44 percent from N 184.35 in July 2022 to N564.92 as of July 2023, was not only the lowest in the country, the rate of increase was below the national level.
In other words, whereas in July 2022, a litre of PMS cost N190.04 averagely nationwide, the same measure of the commodity was sold for N184.35. Similarly, in July 2023, whereas a litre of PMS was sold for N600.35 averagely across the nation, it was much cheaper in the south-south sub region at N564.92.
PMS was cheapest in the north central geopolitical zone where on the average, the annual increase in the pump price of PMS was 184.50 percent from N193.87 a litre as of July 2022 to N551.58 a litre by July 2023.
On a state-by-state basis, a litre of PMS was most expensive in Borno, where it cost N657.27 a litre which was the highest across the federation. Abia was second with N643.13; Gombe, N642.22; Enugu, N640; Adamawa, N630; Kebbi, N628.75; Kaduna, N626.75, and Jigawa, N625.80.
Others are Yobe, N624.29; Kano, N621.55, and Sokoto, N621.14.
Meanwhile, the recent pronouncement by the presidency has allayed fears of Nigerians that even if the exchange rates of the naira to the dollar continue to plummet, the pump price of PMS would no longer increase further.
“There is no plan to reintroduce any form of fuel subsidy. There is no condition to support any increase in prices at this time. President Tinubu is convinced based on information before him that we can maintain current pricing without reversing the current deregulations policy by swift cleaning up existing inefficiencies within the midstream and downstream of the petroleum sector,” Temitope Ajayi, Senior Adviser to the President, said recently.
