World Bank said, the price of fuel ought to be about N750 per liter higher than what Nigerians are currently paying about N650.
The bank's Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, made this claim 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.
Given that fuel prices in the nation are now not cost-reflective, Sienaert suggested that the Federal Government might still be covering fuel subsidies.
He pointed out that a liter of fuel ought to cost N750 based on the current official exchange rate.
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.”
Sienaert stated that the bank is advising the government to take more steps in addition to its significant reforms in order to reap the rewards of those actions.
