Price of a litre of Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) otherwise known as the diesel rose the most in the north west, north east and south east geopolitical zones in December 2023, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed.
The NBS stated that on the average nationwide, a litre of diesel rose by 37.76 percent on a year-on-year basis from N817.82 as of December 2022 to N1,126.69 as of December 2023. The increase was 6.74 percent on a month-on-month basis from N1,055.57 as of November 2023 as against N1,126.69 last month.
Its price rose more than the national average in the north west, north east and south east. Rising by 52.21 percent, the price of a litre of diesel rose to N1,227.31 in the north west, up from N806.32 as of December 2022 and as against N1,098.69 in November 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the increase was 11.71 percent in the same region.
North east residents bought a litre of diesel in December 2023 by 39.53 percent more than its price in December 2022. Its price rose from N811.72 per litre as of December 2022 to N1,042.27 in November 2023 and further to N1,132.63 as of December 2023.
In the south east geopolitical zone, the price of a litre of diesel at N1,140.89 in December 2023 was 38.03 percent higher than N826.57 a litre as of December 2023, and 18.88 percent higher than N959.69 as of November 2023.
The increase in the other three geopolitical zones was lower than the national average. Diesel price rose by 34.64 percent a litre from N824.87 as of December 2022 to N1,109.44 per litre in December 2023. On the contrary, it fell by 1.08 percent on a month-on-month when compared to its price in November 2023 which was N1,123.75.
Diesel price in the south west rose by 30.56 percent on a year-on-year basis and by 0.76 percent on a month-on-month basis from N841.35 in December 2022 to N1,090.16 as of November 2023 and further to N1,098.45 by December 2023.
The oil-rich south-south region experienced the least increase in the price of a litre of diesel. Its price rose by 30.23 percent from N798.54 per litre in December 2022 to N984.31 by November 2023 and to N1,039.90 per litre as of December 2023.
Meanwhile, expectation is high now as Africa’s largest refinery, Dangote Refinery, is set to release its first products, diesel and aviation fuel, into the Nigerian market by month end. According to the recent release from the refinery complex, some oil majors have been approved to be the distributors of its products.
These include Conoil Plc, Ardova Plc, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, 11 Plc, Eterna, OVH Energy Marketing Limited, Total Nigeria Plc, as well as NNPC Retail.
