TheCable

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Abia, Imo and Cross River states paid the highest amount for premium motor spirit (PMS), better known as petrol, in May 2022.

The average petrol price during the month under review is N173.08 per litre.

The NBS said this in its latest PMS price watch report for May 2022, released on Friday.

Despite regulation of petroleum prices and the huge cost of subsidy for the product, some states still pay more than the average price.

In 2021, petrol subsidy payments gulped N1.43 trillion, shrinking revenue accrued to the federation account to N542 billion — a shortfall from the projected N2.51 trillion.

This year, the national assembly approved the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to earmark N4 trillion for petrol subsidy in 2022,  so far, the NNPC has spent N947.53 billion on petrol subsidy payments in 2022.

The World Bank, in its Nigeria’s Development Update (NDU), launched on Tuesday, projected that fuel subsidy would gulp N5 trillion in 2022 — more than Nigeria’s N4 trillion subsidy budget.

According to NBS’ report, the average retail price paid by consumers for petrol increased to N173.08 in May 2022, indicating a 2.99 percent increase compared to the value recorded in May 2021 (N168.06).

The value also increased on a month-on-month basis from N172.61 in April 2022, showing an increase of 0.27 percent compared to the average retail price paid by consumers in May 2022.

“On state profile analysis, the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) was recorded in Abia with N193.20, followed by Imo and Cross River with N188.24 and N187.65 respectively,” the report reads

“On the other hand, the lowest average retail price for Petrol was recorded in Ogun with N165.00, followed by Yobe and Benue with N165.36 and N165.50 respectively.”

Across the geopolitical zones, the report showed that the highest average retail price was recorded in the South-East zone with N186.24, while the North-Central had the least with N168.20.