Nigeria's energy crisis has continued to worsen with prices of household kerosene and diesel spiking by as high as 105.70 percent and 202.67 per cent respectively between June 2021 and June 2022.

The situation has put more Nigerians under pressure, worsening the already high cost of living, according to the founder of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, in an interview.

The National Bureau of Statistics in its June 2022 national price watch for household kerosene, diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, respectively, released yesterday, showed sharp increases in their prices.

While the average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in June 2022 increased by 12.09 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N679.54 in May 2022 to N761.69 in June 2022 and 105.70 percent on a year-on-year basis, from N370.29 in June 2021.

Diesel increased by 202.67 per cent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N242.43 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N733.78 per litre in June 2022. On a month-on-month basis, an increase of 9.34 per cent was recorded from N671.08 in the preceding month of May to an average of N733.78 in June.

Petrol, on its part, according to NBS, increased to N175.89 in June 2022 from N165.61 recorded in June 2021, indicating a 6.21 percent increase. Likewise, on a month-on-month basis, the average retail price increased by 1.63 percent from N173.08 in May 2022, compared to the average retail price paid by consumers in June 2022.

The state profile analysis showed that the highest average price per litre of kerosene in June 2022 was recorded in Ogun with N961.54, followed by Enugu with N961.11 and Ekiti with N926.47.

On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Nasarawa with N618.06, followed by Rivers with N618.42 and Jigawa with N625.00.

For diesel, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in June 2022 include Kwara (N800.00), Delta (N798.50) and Katsina (N786.36).

Bauchi (N650.00), Yobe (N675.00) and Kogi (N678.00), recorded the lowest price during the period, according to the NBS report.

The three states that recorded the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) was Sokoto with N195.55, followed by Kaduna and Adamawa with N190.80 and N190.67 respectively.

On the other hand, the lowest average retail price for Petrol was recorded in Benue with N165.00, followed by Ogun and Kebbi with N165.20 and N165.33 respectively.

Yusuf said as one of the major drivers of inflation is high energy costs, adding that the government should as a matter of urgency suspend all forms of taxes and levies on the importation of petroleum products to give respite on the spiking energy cost.

According to him, “Purchasing power has been massively eroded, real incomes have been depressed, and the poverty incidence has consequently worsened. The effect on SMEs is troubling. There is elevated social discontent, driven by increasing joblessness and hunger.”