Abia, Osun and Ondo states recorded the highest average prices per litre of kerosene in December 2016, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has said.

A report tagged the National Household Kerosene Price Watch for December 2016 stated that Abia recorded an average price of N211 per litre, while Osun and Ondo recorded N210 per litre.

The report, the NBS stated, presented the average monthly price paid by households for kerosene (HHK) across the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

According to the report, states with the lowest average prices per litre include Benue, Gombe and Kogi, which recorded N185. Others are Abuja and Sokoto with N183 and N180 respectively.

For the prices per gallon watch, states that recorded the highest average prices are Lagos, Ekiti and Rivers states with record of N1153, N1142 and N1141 respectively.

Kwara, Niger and Ebonyi recorded the lowest average price per gallon with records of N969, N940 and N938 respectively.

In the past week, scarcity of kerosene, used by millions of largely poor Nigerians for cooking, hit major cities in Nigeria, causing huge increase in price.

Reports had it that the situation caused some residents to turn to alternatives such as firewood and cooking gas.

Three of the most affected cities are Kaduna and Zaria in Kaduna State and Calabar in Cross River State. The scarcity also crept into some parts of Lagos and Ogun states.