Fuel prices at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) stations have surged, with Abuja now seeing prices jump from ₦897 to ₦1,030 per litre, and Lagos rising from ₦885 to ₦998 per litre, effective immediately.
At the NNPC station in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, long queues of motorists were observed, with many hoping to buy the newly priced fuel. Similarly, in Kaduna’s Kachia area, commuters lined up at NNPC outlets, awaiting the adjustment of fuel meters to reflect the new price. A station attendant confirmed, “We have fuel, but the management is waiting for the metre to be adjusted to ₦1,030 per litre.”
In Lagos, NNPC stations in Yaba have also increased their prices to ₦998 per litre, sparking long queues across the city.
This price hike marks a significant shift in NNPCL’s operations, as the company will no longer absorb the previous subsidy of ₦133 per litre. The move is part of the full deregulation of Nigeria’s oil market, meaning that independent marketers will now negotiate fuel prices directly with the Dangote Refinery under a “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement, similar to how diesel and kerosene are priced.
Last month, Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries, announced that the Dangote Refinery had begun processing petrol with NNPCL as the initial off-taker. However, recent changes allow independent marketers to directly source from Dangote.
“We can no longer continue to bear that burden,” an NNPCL official explained, referring to the financial strain of maintaining fuel subsidies.
In related news, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has announced that a South Korean consortium will soon launch four new refineries in the country.