As Nigerians wait eagerly for Dangote Refinery to begin production, the prices of Automotive Gas Oil also known as diesel and that of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as patrol, have continued to be on the rise.
The National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS) in its report on the prices of the two products in December 2023, said the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) paid by consumers increased to N1126.69 in December 2023, a 6.74 percent from N1055.57 in the preceding month of November 2023.
The report shows that the price of the product increased by 37.76 percent
on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N817.86 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N1126.69 per litre in December 2023.
For petrol, the average retail price increased by 3.53 percent from N648.93 it sold in November to a new price of N671.86 in December 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, the increase is 225.85 percent increase when compared to the value recorded in December 2022, which was N206.19.
The report said the top three States with the highest average price of diesel in December 2023 include Sokoto State (N1300.00), Kebbi/Yobe State (N1250.00) and Jigawa State (N1229.09). While Rivers State (N897.89), Bayelsa State (N935.00) and Bauchi State (N985.00) recorded the lowest prices during the period.
On the other hand, Ogun State had the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), at N776.54, Taraba and Adamawa States were next, with N760.00 and N745.71, respectively.
Kano, Lagos and Borno States had the lowest average retail prices for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), at N602.78, N612.72 and N622.71 respectively.
Meanwhile, Nigerians are expectant that with the commencement of production by the Dangote Refinery which begins with the domestic refining of diesel and aviation fuel, the price of the products will drop significantly