Key Point

• Fuel price hike to ₦955 per litre worsens inflation risk.

• NNPC and marketers cite global oil prices and FX pressures.

• Labour groups demand relief as living costs surge.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Nigeria’s state oil company, and major downstream marketers have raised the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which is also known as petrol, to about ₦955 per litre. This is a big increase that makes things even harder for businesses and consumers.

The new rate went into effect over the weekend and was seen in big cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. TotalEnergies, Conoil, and Ardova Plc changed the meters at some of their retail stations to show the new benchmark. Independent stores, on the other hand, charged a little more because of depot costs and logistics.

The rise in fuel prices to ₦955 per litre makes people even more worried about inflation

The National Bureau of Statistics says that Nigeria’s inflation rate, which was already high at 27.4% in September, will get worse because the price of fuel has gone up to ₦955 per litre.

Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, said, “This rise will affect the whole economy, from transport costs to food prices.” “Balancing deregulation with affordability is a big problem for the government, especially since people’s buying power keeps going down.”

The most recent minutes from the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee show that energy costs are still one of the biggest causes of inflation. Brent crude is trading at about $88 per barrel, and the naira is trading at about ₦1,120 to the dollar at the official window. Importers say that the cost of bringing in refined petrol has become almost impossible to bear.

NNPC says that rising oil prices around the world and currency strain are to blame

According to a report by Vanguard news, Mele Kyari, the CEO of NNPC Group, said that the change was made because prices for goods and services around the world went up and the value of the currency went down. “We are not giving out subsidies.” Kyari told reporters in Abuja that what we are seeing is a reflection of the true costs of importing, logistics, and the realities of exchange rates.

Marketers who work for the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) agreed with this. MOMAN Chairman Huub Stokman, who is also the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Ltd., said, “The market has become more open, but prices are still being affected by things outside of our control.”

According to reports, depot operators like Matrix Energy and Prudent Energy changed their ex-depot prices to between 910 and 920 per litre. This doesn’t leave retailers with much room to make a profit after adding transportation and operating costs.

The government is under a lot of pressure, and people are getting more and more angry

The most recent rise in fuel prices to ₦955 per litre has made commuters, transport unions, and civil society groups angry. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) called the increase “economically insensitive” and asked the federal government to step in with specific relief measures.

Wale Edun, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said that subsidies will not be coming back. Instead, the government is speeding up plans to give out compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a cheaper way to get around.

Edun said in Lagos, “The administration of President Bola Tinubu is still committed to full deregulation, but we understand how hard it is for people.” “Our main goal is to lessen the effects through palliative measures and long-term changes.”

But for a lot of Nigerians, those promises don’t seem real. Ibrahim Yusuf, a driver in Lagos, said, “Every time petrol prices go up, everything else does too.” “It’s getting harder to stay alive.”