Fact Check

FACT CHECK: Is Nigeria’s fuel price the cheapest in the world as Eniola Badmus claimed?

July 28, 2023 5:38 pm

‘He’s a cheerful giver’ — Eniola Badmus defends Tinubu amid petrol price hike

Eniola Badmus, a Nollywood actress, has said that despite the recent petrol subsidy removal, the price of fuel in Nigeria is the cheapest in the world.

The actress, a popular supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made the claim while speaking as a guest on an Instagram live hosted by Daddy Freeze, a media personality.

Badmus said many of those criticising the Tinubu-led administration do not know the benefit of the removal of petrol subsidy.

“As a citizen, I have a right to my opinion. I can support whoever I want to support,” she said.

“A lot of these keypad warriors do not even have an idea of what subsidy is. It was when they removed it that they knew what the government was doing. Even till now, I think we still buy the cheapest fuel in the world.

“President Tinubu remains unshakable. Aside from supporting him, I have seen what he has done and I know what he is going to do. I have never seen a philanthropist as our current president. Till he leaves the position, I will stand by him.”

PETROL SUBSIDY REMOVAL

On May 29, President Bola Tinubu while delivering his inaugural speech as president said the petrol subsidy regime is over.

“On fuel subsidy, unfortunately, the budget before I assumed office is that no provision is there for fuel subsidy. So fuel subsidy is gone,” he said.

He added that subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.

“We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor.

“We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.”

Shortly after Tinubu’s pronouncement, the price of petrol skyrocketed from N190 per litre to over N500 per litre.

On July 18, oil marketers again increased the pump price of petrol at retail outlets to N617 per litre in Abuja and N568 per litre in Lagos.

Is Nigeria’s fuel truly the cheapest in the world? TheCable reviewed the global petrol prices and here is what we found.

REVIEW OF GLOBAL PETROL PRICES

According to Globalpetrolprices, a global market leader known for tracking the retail prices of motor fuel, electricity, and natural gas in over 150 countries, oil is sold in Venezuela for the cheapest price across the globe. The current price goes for N3.1274 per litre.

Further research by TheCable revealed that aside from Venezuela, petrol is sold for less than N617 in 20 other countries.

The countries include; Iran, Libya, Algeria, Kuwait, Angola, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Bolivia, Iraq, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Russia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.

S/N	Country	Price in $ as of July 24	CBN Exchange rate on July 24	price in Naira
1.	Venezuela	0.004	781.85	3.1274
2.	Iran	0.029	781.85	22.67365
3.	Libya	0.031	781.85	24.23735
4.	Algeria*	0.34	781.85	265.829
5.	Kuwait*	0.342	781.85	267.3927
6.	Angola	0.364	781.85	284.5934
7.	Egypt*	0.372	781.85	290.8482
8.	Turkmenistan	0.429	781.85	335.41365
9.	Malaysia*	0.448	781.85	350.2688
10.	Kazakhstan	0.488	781.85	381.5428
11.	Bahrain	0.531	781.85	415.16235
12.	Bolivia*	0.542	781.85	423.7627
13.	Iraq	0.573	781.85	448.00005
14.	Qatar*	0.577	781.85	451.12745
15.	Azerbaijan	0.588	781.85	459.7278
16.	Russia*	0.589	781.85	460.50965
17.	Oman*	0.621	781.85	485.52885
18.	Saudi Arabia*	0.621	781.85	485.52885
19.	Ecuador*	0.634	781.85	495.6929
20.	Kyrgyzstan*	0.741	781.85	579.35085
21.	Afghanistan	0.743	781.85	580.91455
22.	Nigeria	0.778	781.85	608.2793
23.	UAE*	0.787	781.85	615.31595
24.	Tunisia	0.832	781.85	650.4992
25.	Bhutan	0.845	781.85	660.66325
26.	Lebanon*	0.863	781.85	674.73655
27.	Indonesia*	0.864	781.85	675.5184
28.	Colombia*	0.867	781.85	677.86395
29.	Pakistan*	0.878	781.85	686.4643
30.	Argentina*	0.924	781.85	722.4294
31.	Belarus*	0.935	781.85	731.02975

It should be noted that 19 of the 23 countries sell petrol for lower than N568 per litre, which is considered the cheapest in Nigeria today.

VERDICT

The claim by the popular actress that Nigeria’s petrol is the cheapest in the world is false. Currently, 19 countries of the world sell petrol below the N568 pump price in Lagos.

For this report, the exchange rate used is $1 = 781.85 according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as of July 24, 2023, when the actress made the claim.