KUWAIT CITY: Nigeria’s retail pump price of N145 per litre of petrol ranks among the lowest in the world. A review of retail prices of petrol in 175 countries shows that Nigeria has the 13th least petrol price at approximately $0.50, or N145 per litre, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
Kuwait has the lowest petrol price in the world, at $0.21 or N61.37 per litre. The world’s costliest petrol prices are found in Hong Kong (N535.38 per litre), Norway (N490.19) and Iceland (N474.76). Most countries with the lowest petrol prices belong to the 14-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), namely Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Qatar, Iran, Ecuador, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Indonesia, Venezuela, Iraq, Libya, Gabon and Angola.
But when it comes to the price of fuel, Nigeria’s standing is not so impressive in OPEC and Africa. Of 14 OPEC countries reviewed, Nigeria has the sixth most expensive rate. Also, despite Nigeria’s reputation as Africa’s biggest producer of hydrocarbons, petrol is cheaper in Algeria than in Nigeria. Petrol sells for $0.28, or N80.94 per litre, in that North African country. In Africa generally, the fuel sells for the highest rate in Zimbabwe, at N371.70 per litre. Nigeria’s latest fuel price raise in May 2016 was as usual met with resistance from the organized labour. Eventually, the government prevailed. Many Nigerians argue that as a top producer of oil and gas, Nigeria has no business selling petrol to his citizens at exorbitant rates.
The government says its fuel subsidy programme that drove the price down had been abused and was fueling massive corruption. Part of the corruption sees marketers and dealers smuggling subsidized fuel into nearby countries where they sell at higher prices. Data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com shows that all the countries bordering Nigeria, particularly in the Economic Community of West Africsn States (ECOWAS), have some of the highest fuel prices.
