The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) has raised the cost of fuel per litre in Abuja to N617, resulting in corresponding increases of N565 in Lagos, N600 in Port Harcourt, and N568 in Ogun State.
In June, the NNPC announced a price hike per litre for fuel due to the elimination of fuel subsidies. This caused the price to shift from its previous N189 per litre to a range of N488-N537 per litre across different regions. Consequently, independent fuel outlets adjusted their prices to accommodate the subsidy removal. However, there was an abrupt surge in petrol prices at Abuja outlets, with the price rising from N539 to N617 per litre.
Following the increase in Abuja, other independent fuel stations also raised their pump prices. At Emadeb filling station in Mabushi, the product’s price also reached N617 per litre. A fuel attendant mentioned being unaware of the price change until “a few minutes ago when they altered the price on my meter.”
Reports indicate that the NNPC outlet in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, increased the pump price to N600 per litre, while the outlet in Akute, Ogun State, also experienced an increase to N568 per litre.
Although the pump price remains unchanged at NNPC outlets in Lagos, TotalEnergies filling station in Alakija raised the price to N565 per litre, a N65 increase from its previous price of N500 per litre. Similarly, Peridot filling station along Festac link road adjusted their fuel pump price to N565 per litre.
These changes occurred a few months after the complete deregulation of the downstream petroleum business, allowing market forces to determine product pricing by removing governmental restrictions.
It is expected that as fuel prices are no longer fixed, they will continue to fluctuate based on market forces and changes in the foreign exchange rate of the US Dollar.