Mathew Amaechi
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Monday raised the pump price of petrol to ₦945 per litre in Abuja and ₦915 in Lagos, deepening the cost-of-living crisis for millions across the country.
The price hike, implemented at NNPCL’s retail outlets, follows a similar increase by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which last week adjusted its ex-depot price from ₦825 to ₦880 per litre. The latest move represents a fresh jump of ₦35 in the capital and ₦45 in Lagos compared to previous prices of ₦910 and ₦870 respectively.
It was observed that the new prices prominently displayed at several NNPC stations, including those in Federal Housing, Kubwa, and Obasanjo Way in Abuja, as well as outlets in Igando and the Badagry Expressway corridor in Lagos.
The upward trend is spreading beyond NNPC. MRS, a key distributor connected to the Dangote refinery, has raised its retail price in Lagos to ₦925, while TotalEnergies now sells at ₦910. Smaller marketers are not left out — Oluwafemi Arowolo Petroleum in Iba recorded pump prices of ₦920 on Monday.
Depot operators confirmed that supply hubs such as Wosbab, Pinnacle, and NIPCO have revised ex-depot prices upwards to between ₦920 and ₦925, citing global crude market volatility and rising upstream costs.
The global oil market has been shaken by renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Over the weekend, a reported joint airstrike by US and Israeli forces on Iranian nuclear facilities reignited fears of supply disruption, sending oil prices climbing. Market analysts now predict Brent crude could breach the $80 per barrel mark in the coming days.
PetroleumPrice.ng CEO, Olatide Jeremiah, warned that a further rise in international crude prices could push local petrol prices beyond ₦1,000 per litre at private depots.
“If by tomorrow morning crude hits $80 or more, depot prices may cross the ₦1,000 threshold,” he said. “The current surge was triggered when Dangote paused sales briefly. Now that it’s resumed selling at ₦880 for bulk orders, it might slow the escalation, but if crude rises again, all bets are off.”
The price surge is expected to ripple through transportation, manufacturing, and food supply chains, fuelling inflation and compounding the economic hardship faced by many Nigerians.
While the government has remained largely silent on the latest increases, industry insiders stress that without a robust regulatory buffer or subsidized supply, the downstream sector will continue to reflect market shocks — at the expense of the average citizen.
