World Bank explains why petrol should be selling at N750 per litre in Nigeria
The World Bank has hinted that the price of petrol in Nigeria should be pegged at about N750 per instead of the N650 for a litre currently being paid by the citizens
The bank’s Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, disclosed this in his presentation of the Nigeria Development Update, December 2023 edition, titled ‘Turning The Corner (from reforms and renewed hope, to results) in Abuja on Wednesday.
He pointed out that based on the official exchange rate in Nigeria, fuel should cost N750 per litre adding that the Federal Government is still paying partial subsidy on fuel to reduce the actual cost.
He said, “It does seem like petrol prices are not fully adjusting to market conditions so that hints at the partial return of the subsidy, if we estimate what is the cost reflective of retail PMS price of the would-be and assuming that importation is done at the official FX rate.
“Of course, the liberalisation is happening with the parallel rates, which is the main supplier, the price would be even higher. These are just estimates to give you a sense of what cost-reflective pricing most likely looks like.
“We think the price of petrol should be around N750 per litre more than the N650 per litre currently paid by Nigerians.”
