As global crude oil prices trend downward, Nigerians are facing a starkly different reality at home: petrol prices have surged past ₦900 per litre, reaching as high as ₦960 in some parts of the country.
For Amina Salisu, a commercial driver in Kano, the hike defies logic. “When oil prices go down, we expect some relief not more suffering,” she says, standing in a long queue at a filling station.
The price jump has been reported nationwide. In Lagos, petrol is selling around ₦930 per litre, while cities in the South-East and parts of the North are seeing prices edge close to ₦960. Motorists and businesses are bearing the brunt, with transport fares and operating costs climbing alongside fuel prices.
At the root of the crisis is the breakdown of a crude oil supply agreement between the Nigerian government and Dangote Refinery. The deal had allowed marketers to purchase crude locally in naira, helping stabilize prices. With that arrangement now off the table, marketers are forced to buy crude at global rates paid in dollars exposing the entire supply chain to exchange rate volatility and higher importation costs.
Chinedu Ukadike, a spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), says the change has made things worse. “We’re no longer getting crude at subsidized local rates. Everything is now dollarized, and the cost gets passed down to consumers.”
As fuel prices rise, the impact is rippling across the economy. Commuters face higher fares, small businesses relying on generators are cutting hours or raising prices, and inflation continues to creep upward. Analysts warn that without decisive government intervention, Nigerians may face even steeper hikes in the weeks ahead.
For many, the irony is hard to ignore. Despite being an oil-producing nation, Nigeria once again finds itself at the mercy of international markets and internal policy failures—leaving citizens to pay more for less.
