Abuja, Nigeria. May 10th, 2016 –Latest public opinion poll released by NOIPolls has revealed that a vast majority of Nigerians (85 percent) bought Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, above the official pump price of ₦86.50; and at an average pump price of ₦176 per litre in the month of April 2016. The poll also revealed that the North-East and South-East geopolitical regions of the country recorded the highest average prices of ₦199 and ₦194 per litre respectively. In addition, amongst the 85 percent who bought petrol above the approved pump price of ₦86.50, almost 6 in 10 (59 percent) respondents in this category bought the product between ₦150 and ₦250 per litre.
Furthermore, 50 percent of respondents bought petrol from Independent Marketer filling stations, 24 percent from Major Marketer filling stations, and 14 percent from Black marketers; leaving only 12 percent who said they bought the product from NNPC filling stations. The poll also revealed that 73 percent of respondents use petrol to power their ‘Generators’, thus highlighting the use of petrol to meet energy demands resulting from poor power supply. Similarly, 58 percent use petrol to power ‘Cars’ and 28 percent use petrol to power ‘Tricycles & Motorcycles’ popularly known as Keke and Okada. Finally, the poll highlighted the mixed opinions expressed by Nigerians on the issue of petrol subsidy, as 48 percent say they support subsidy removal of subsidy, while 52 percent say they do not support the removal. These are the key findings from the Petrol Pollconducted by NOIPolls in the last week of April 2016.
Brief Background
The months of March and April 2016 witnessed an unprecedented scarcity of petroleum products in the country, with long queues at filling stations natinwide. According to newspaper reports, fuel queues extended farther than the eyes could see, black marketers had a field day, and motorists spent long hours, and in some instances passing the night, at filling stations across the country. The situation was further worsened by the long battle between members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Federal Government over subsidy claims running into several millions of dollars, and new reports that the government was seeking to ensure that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) become the sole importer of petroleum products.[1]
On its part, NNPC urged motorists to desist from panic-buying, while assuring Nigerians that a huge volume of petroleum products would be released into the market to ease the long queues experienced across the country. In spite of these, fuel scarcity lingered through the months of March & April 2016 and beyond the window period stipulated by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources[2]. In the light of the above, NOIPolls recently conducted a public opinion poll to seek the opinions of Nigerians regarding availability of petrol in the country.
Findings from the Poll
The survey revealed that about 8 in 10 adult Nigerians (81 Percent) say they bought petrol in April 2016; with about 50 percent of that population buying products from Independent Marketer filling stations despite NNPC being the sole importer of the refined product. The South-East zone (68 percent) presented as the zone with the highest in this category.
Furthermore, 24 percent confirmed that they bought petrol from major marketers and the South-West zone (33 percent) accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians in this category which can be alluded to the heavy presence of Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to ensure that marketers comply with the official pump price.
Also, 14 percent of Nigerians indicated that they bought petrol from the black market and this was predominant in the North-East zone which is the highest with 32 percent while only a meagre 12 percent claimed that they bought petrol from the NNPC stations.
In ascertaining the amount Nigerians pay for a litre of petrol in their locality, the survey revealed that a vast majority of Nigerians (85 percent) bough petrol at a price above the official rate of ₦86.50, with an average of ₦176 per litre. Analysis by geo-political zone revealed that a huge portion of respondents across all geo-political zones currently buy petrol above the official pump price, however, the North-East zone recorded the highest average price per litre at ₦199, closely followed by the South-East zone with an average of ₦197 per litre.
In addition, amongst the 85 percent who bought petrol above the approved pump price of ₦86.50, almost 6 in 10 (59 percent) respondents in this category bought the product between ₦150 and ₦250 per litre, while 35 percent bought the product for between ₦86.50 and ₦150 per litre. However, 6 percent of respondents stated that they bought the product above ₦250 per litre.
The poll also revealed that 73 percent of respondents use petrol to power their ‘Generators’, thus highlighting the use of petrol to meet energy demands resulting from poor power supply. Similarly, 58 percent use petrol to power ‘Cars’ and 28 percent use petrol to power ‘Tricycles & Motorcycles’ popularly known as Keke and Okada; leaving a mergre 5 percent use petrol for industrial machines.
Finally, the poll highlighted the mixed opinions expressed by Nigerians on the issue of petrol subsidy, as 48 percent say they support subsidy removal of subsidy, while 52 percent say they do not support the removal. Interestingly, those who support the removal of fuel subsidy hinged their position on consideration that it would make petrol available ( 30 percent), It would be beneficial to Nigerians (16 percent), it would reduce the suffering of the masses (15 percent) and curb corruption (14 percent). On the other hand, those who oppose the petrol subsidy removal were of the opinion that it would make petrol expensive (25 percent), it could adversely affect the poor (21 percent), and could lead to increase in price of goods & services (14 percent).
Survey Methods
The opinion poll was conducted in the week of April 25th 2016. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3%. NOIPolls Limited is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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[1] http://thenationonlineng.net/nnpc-to-be-sole-petrol-importer-says-emefiele/
[2] http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/04/05/kachikwu-fuel-scarcity-will-end-on-wednesday-in-abuja-lagos
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