Princewill Demian
27 February 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja – About 86 per cent of Nigerians buy petrol at an average of N199 per litre, the latest polling by NOI polls, a research and survey firm, shows.
The firm revealed this in its latest report released in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that the amount was far above the N145 per litre price approved by the Federal government.
It challenged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to enforce price monitoring mechanism.
It said the finding was in line with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) petrol price watch report, which revealed that Nigerians bought petrol at an average of N191 per litre in January 2018.
It added that the result of the polls which was conducted on February 5, 2018 highlighted the need for stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, especially the Department for Petroleum Resources, to intensify efforts towards price monitoring.
This, it said, would ensure that products allocated to each state of the federation were dispensed to buyers at the official pump price.
The report explained that the first question gauged the proportion of Nigerians who buy petrol, adding that it was revealed that 72 per cent of Nigerian adults confirmed they buy petrol, either for use in their vehicles or equipment.
The equipment it named includes generators, grinding machines, among others.
According to the report, this response cuts across gender, geo-political zones and age groups, with each demography having over 50 per cent of the respondents indicating that they buy petrol.
“Poll results revealed that most Nigerians, 56 per cent, buy petrol from independent marketers’ filling stations and residents from the South-East had the highest percentage of respondents in this category with 78 per cent representation.
“While 23 per cent mentioned Major Marketers’ filling stations, it is interesting to note that 12 per cent of the respondents buy from black market sellers (street hawkers) and only nine percent indicated that they buy from the NNPC Mega Stations.”
It added that, “The prevailing price of petrol was also ascertained and results revealed that an overwhelming proportion, 86 per cent, of Nigerians disclosed that they buy petrol above the official price of N145.
“And this assertion cuts across gender, geo-political zones and age groups with each demography having over 70 per cent of the respondents indicating that they buy petrol above the official price in their respective region.
“Further analysis revealed that of all the various prices mentioned by respondents, Nigerians buy a litre of petrol for an average price of N199 nationwide.
“Also, residents in the North-West zone pay the highest average price of N221 for a litre of Petrol, while the respondents resident in the South-West zone pay the lowest average price of N179 per litre,” it stated.
As a result, the NOI Polls concluded that although petrol scarcity seemed to have disappeared, most Nigerians still buy petrol above the official price of N145 per litre and at an average of N199 per litre nationwide.
