NBS: Diesel price increased to N1,257 in February — up by 50% in one year

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the retail price of a litre of diesel increased from N836.91 in February 2023 to N1,257.06 in February 2024.

NBS, in its diesel price watch for February 2024, released on Wednesday, said it represents a 50.20 percent year-on-year increase.

“On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 9.02 per cent from the N1,153.01 per litre recorded in January 2024,” NBS said.

The bureau said in state profile analysis, the highest price of diesel in February this year was recorded in Akwa Ibom at N1,525 per litre, followed by Gombe state at N1,500 per litre, and Kwara at N1,444 per litre.

It said the lowest price was recorded in Adamawa at N1,037.50 per litre, followed by Kano at N1,111.43 per litre, and Katsina at N1,125 per litre.

NBS said analysis by zones showed the south-south had the highest price of N1,343.09 per litre, while the south-west recorded the lowest price at N1,164.05 per litre.

Meanwhile, on October 1, 2023, the federal government announced it would waive the value-added tax (VAT) on diesel for the next six months as part of measures to cushion the impacts of the removal of petrol subsidy.

The waiver is part of the resolution reached by the federal government and leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) after President Bola Tinubu ended subsidy regime.