Nigerians Groan As Prices Of Gas, Kerosene Soar

By Ayodele Oni

Nigerians continue to groan under high cost of living especially upkeep of family members as the National

 Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) rolled out cost of gas and kerosene in previous months.

Gas is under consumables being used in various homes for cooking.

NBS, in its latest report stated that the average price of five kilograms of cooking gas increased from N4,397.68 in July to N4,456.56 in August.

In its current edition of Cooking Gas Price Watch, it was mentioned that the pricing showed a 1.34% month-over-month increase in August compared to July.

The report added that in Taraba, five kilogramme sold for N4,925.44, followed by Adamawa, which cost N4,920, and Lagos, selling for N4,782.50.

It stated that Katsina recorded the lowest price of N4,020 in August, followed by Ogun and Yobe at N4,057.14 and N4,078.46, respectively.

Analysis by Geopolitical zones showed that the North-Central recorded the highest  retail price of N4,615.95 for five-kilogramme cooking gas, followed by the North-East at N4,548.03.

The North-West recorded the lowest retail price at N4,285.51.

The NBS also disclosed that the average retail price of 12.5kg of cooking gas increased to N9,899.34 in August 2022 from N9,824.07 in July, representing a 0.77 per cent month-on-month increase.

It added that “On a year-on-year basis, the price rose by 119.26 per cent from N4,514.82 in August 2021.”

According to the report, the highest retail price was recorded in Ebonyi at N11,225 for 12.5kg, followed by Cross River at N10,982.14 and Delta at N10,965.42.

The lowest  price was in Katsina State at N8,150, followed by Yobe and Taraba at N8,212.63 and N8,886.30, respectively.

Price of Kerosene, another petroleum product being used for cooking at home rose to N809.52 per litre in August, showing a 2.5 per cent increase over the N789.75 for which it was sold in July.

The report noted that on a year-on-year basis, the  retail price per litre of kerosene rose by 102.38 per cent from N400.01 recorded in August 2021.

Further analysis showed that the highest price per litre of kerosene in August 2022 was recorded in Imo at N1083.33, followed by Ekiti at N1,026.92 and Enugu at N1,017.74.

The report showed that the lowest price was recorded in Nasarawa at N625, followed by Rivers at N627.45 and Adamawa at N633.33.

Analysis by geopolitical zones showed that the South-East recorded the highest retail price per litre at N953.88, followed by the South-West with N910.85.

In South-South, the lowest average price was at N749.51. The agency added that the retail price per gallon of kerosene in August was N2,947.65, showing an increase of 2.12 per cent from N2,886.41 in July 2022.

The August 2022 price was a 122.4 per cent increase over the price of N1,325.39 paid in August 2021.

Analysis by states showed that Abuja paid the highest price of N4,050 per gallon of kerosene in August, followed by Abia, where it sold at N3,825 and Enugu at N3,574.52.

Zamfara recorded the lowest price at N2,280 for a gallon of kerosene, followed by Lagos and Benue, which sold at N2,526.32 and N2,566.67, respectively.

The NBS further stated that analysis by geopolitical zones showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price per gallon of kerosene at N3,276.78, followed by the South-West at N3,073.27.

It added that the Northeast recorded the lowest average retail price at N2,687.63 per gallon.