NRC records 45.38% growth, N1.69b received from passengers
The foreign exchange volatility in the country has continued to spike the price of liquefied petroleum gas, also known as cooking gas, as importers are finding it difficult to access needed funds for importation of the product.
This situation has also driven many households to turn to the use of charcoal or firewood not minding their health and environmental consequences.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its latest report, showed that the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas increased by 69.15 per cent from N9,194.41 in August 2023 to N15,552.56 in August 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 9.05 per cent from N14,261.57 in July 2024 to N15,552.56 in August.
Rivers State recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas with N17, 086.36 followed by Cross River with N17,050.00 and Abia with N17,012.52.
Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Bauchi at N13,425.00, followed by Nasarawa and Adamawa with N13,640.94 and N13,725.00 respectively.
The report also showed that the price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas increased by 7.62 per cent from N5, 974.55 recorded in July 2024 to N6, 430.02 in August 2024.
On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 56.25 per cent from N4, 115.32 in August 2023. The NBS reports that Benue and Sokoto recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas with N7,000.00, followed by Rivers with N6, 954.55, and Borno with N6,914.29. On the other hand, Taraba recorded the lowest price with N5, 600.67, followed by Abuja and Kogi with N5, 825.00 and N5, 857.56 respectively.
In a related development, the NBS also reported that the price per litre of Household Kerosene also increased by 45.21 per cent from N1,272.40 in August 2023 to N1,847.59 in August 2024. On a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 4.39 per cent from N1,769.86 in July 2024.
The report showed that the highest average price per litre of the product in August 2024 was recorded in Zamfara with N2, 566.67, followed by Kano with N2, 444.44 and Ogun with N2, 388.89. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Taraba with N1, 181.18, followed by Adamawa with N1, 185.74 and Borno with N1, 296.95.
In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North West recorded the highest average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene with N2, 118.29, followed by the South-South with N2, 075.45, while the North-East recorded the lowest with N1, 454.38.
MEANWHILE, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has recorded a growth of 45.38 per cent in passengers who travelled through the rail in the second quarter of 2024.
This data was released by the NBS in its Rail Transportation Data (Q2 2024) released at the weekend.
In Q2 2024, a total of 689,263 passengers travelled via rail system relative to 474,117 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2023, indicating a growth rate of 45.38 per cent.
The NRC also in terms of revenue generation, N1.69 billion was received from passengers during the reference period, showing an increase of 53.14 per cent from the N1.10 billion recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
