Petrol would cost N600 per litre if not for the subsidy.

Billy Gillis-Harry, President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, would have cost between N500 and N600 per litre if the government had not subsidized it.

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NewsReport gathered that following the country’s recent gasoline shortage, the current pump price of petrol in Nigeria has reverted to between N162 and N170 per litre.

Oil marketers, however, noted that the actual cost of PMS in the country could have been a little higher or about the same price of diesel had it been PMS was deregulated.

The latest test Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited data sighted by newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja showed that the amount spent on fuel subsidy grew from January to April this year.

Operators in the oil and gas sector, as well as other stakeholders, said the continued rise in the amount spent on subsidizing petrol is becoming worrisome.

Fuel subsidy according to the data jumped to N947.51bn between January and April 2022.

It was also gathered that the oil firm had informed the Federation Account Allocation Committee that it would deduct an estimated value shortfall of N874.5bn in May 2022 and proceed due for sharing at the June 2022 FAAC meeting.

This online information understands that NNPC has been the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria for several years running.

The firm has also been subsidizing the commodity all these years.

In his submission, while conversing with The PUNCH, Gillis-Harry, explained that the actual cost of petrol without subsidy was usually a little higher than that of diesel.

He said going by the international cost of crude oil and the fluctuations in foreign exchange, petrol prices could be much higher in Nigeria with subsidies.

In January, February, March and April, the oil firm incurred N210.38bn, N219.78bn, N245.77bn and N271.58bn respectively, while the total during the four months was N947.51bn.