The plight of Nigerians and especially those in the manufacturing sector with regards to the high cost of energy is nowhere coming to an end.
With the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) and that of Diesel going up by 226.75 percent and 12.77 percent respectively in the last one year, Nigerians are finding it more difficult to move around as well as transport their goods from one point to the other.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Premium Motor Spirit Price Watch for September 2023 released yesterday said the average retail price paid by consumers of petrol for the month of September 2023 was N626.21, indicating a 226.75 percent increase when compared to the value recorded in September 2022, which was N191.65.
The reports said however, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. August 2023), the average retail price decreased marginally by 0.08 percent from N626.70.
On State profile analysis, Taraba State had the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), at N665.56, Borno and Benue States were next, with N657.37 and N641.29,
respectively.
On the other side, Rivers, Delta and Jigawa States had the lowest average retail prices for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), at N602.55, N605.88 and N617.42 respectively.
The NBS in another report, the Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) Price Watch for September 2023, said the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) paid by consumers increased by 12.77 percent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N789.90 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N890.80 per litre in September 2023.
It said on a month-on-month basis, an increase of 4.27 percent was recorded from N854.32 in the preceding month of August to an average of N890.80 in September 2023. Looking at the variations in the State prices, the top three State with the highest average price of the product in September 2023 include Kano State (N967.78), Anambra State (N950.95) and Niger State (N950.55).
Furthermore, the top three lowest prices were recorded in the following State namely, Bayelsa State (N840.16), Katsina State (N840.55) and Rivers State (N840.82). The Zonal representation of average price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) shows that South East Zone has the highest price of N918.06 while South South Zone has the lowest price N863.97 when compared with other Zones.
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had in its Half Yearly 2023 Economic Review report published recenly, said its members spent at least N60.4 billion on alternative energy sources in the first half of 2023.
The expenditure on alternative energy was linked to increasing diesel prices that had reportedly impacted negatively on the production capacity of many manufacturing entities.