National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the price of fuel surged by 215.95 per cent in one year, as that of diesel also increased by 2.60 per cent. The bureau said Nigerians paid an average price of N794.48 for a litre of diesel in July 2023 compared to N774.38 per litre recorded in the corresponding period last year, while the surge indicated a 215.95 per cent increase in fuel price when compared to the value recorded in July 2022 (N190.01). In its latest report on the automotive gas oil (AGO) price watch for July 2023, the NBS said there was a decline in the price of the product during the period examined, compared to the previous month. “On a month-on-month basis, a decrease of -2.62 per cent was recorded from N815.83 in the preceding month of June to an average of N794.48 in July 2023,” the report said. “Looking at the variations in the state prices, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 indicates that the N193.99 billion received from the Federation account as 13 per cent derivation revenue by oil producing states in the first six months of 2023, is, however, N73.99 billion (27.61 per cent) less than the N267.98 billionthe states got in the corresponding period of last year.
Nigeria’s constitution stipulates payment of 13 per cent of oil revenue from the Federation Account to oil producing states as derivation Fund that would be used for the exclusive benefit of their oil/gas producing communities, as such areas are usually negatively impacted by oil and gas exploration and production activities. For instance, at the end of its meeting last month the FAAC issued a communiqué, stating that it shared N907.05 billion among the three tiers of government for June 2023, of which oilproducing states received N47.48 billion as derivation revenue from the 13 percent mineral Fund. The communique said: “The N907.05 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N301.50 billion, distributable Value Added Tax revenue of N273.23 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy revenue of N11.44 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N320.89 billion.”
It added that from the total distributable revenue of N907.054 billion, the Federal Government received N345.564 billion, the State Governments received N295.948 billion, the Local Government Councils received N218.064 billion, while a total sum of N47.478 billion was shared to the relevant States as 13per cent derivation revenue. Further analysis of data obtained from the NBS shows that nine oil producing states-Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Abia and Anambra, shared N970.20 billion from the Federation account through the 13 percent derivation formula in 2022. A breakdown of the data shows that Delta state received the highest allocation, totalling N296.63 billion, representing 31 percent of the total revenue from the derivation account. Delta is followed by Akwa Ibom, which got N222.52 billion, representing 19 per cent of the total disbursement during the period. the top three states with the highest average price of the product in July 2023 include Niger State (N892.50), Abia State (N890.63) and Enugu State (N872.73).”
NBS said the top three lowest prices were recorded in Bayelsa (N683.20), Anambra/Bauchi (N700.00), and Ondo (N701.58). Explaining the price comparison by zones, the agency said the North Central sold at the highest price. “The zonal representation of average price of automotive gas oil (diesel) shows that the North Central zone has the highest price of N863.10 while the South West has the lowest price (of) N759.45 when compared with other zones,” it added. Recently, there have been reports of a significant increase in the price of diesel in some states. Oil suppliers had said the frequent fluctuation in the foreign exchange market rate was a major crisis facing the industry. In another report, entitled ‘Premium Motor Spirit price watch for July 2023′, released yesterday, the bureau said Nigerians paid an average price of N600.35 for a litre of fuel compared to N190.01 in the same month last year. NBS said the surge indicated a 215.95 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in July 2022 (N190.01).
“Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (ie, June 2023), the average retail price increased by 9.99 per cent from N545.83,” the report reads. “On state profile analysis, Borno had the highest average retail price forfuel, at N657.27; Abia and Gombe states were next, with N643.13 and N642.22, respectively. “On the other hand, Edo, Kwara, and Benue states had the lowest average retail prices for petrol at N530.00, N535.44 and N537.00, respectively. “Lastly, on zonal profile, the north-east zone had the highest average retail price of N630.13, while the north-central zone had the lowest price of N551.58.” Last week, President Bola Tinubu said there would be no more hikes in the pump prices of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as fuel.