Yet again, economic hardship among Nigerians is set to trigger as the price of petrol has surged in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, with filling stations now selling a litre between ₦930 and ₦970.
In Lagos, the cost jumped from ₦860 to ₦930, while in Abuja and several northern cities, pump prices now range from ₦950 to ₦970—an increase of ₦70 to ₦90 per litre compared to last week.
Fuel retailers such as MRS Oil & Gas, Ardova Plc, Heyden, and other outlets linked to Dangote Petroleum Refinery have revised their pump prices to reflect the change.
Similarly, major marketers like Matrix Energy, North-West Petroleum, Total Energies, Mobil, Bovas, and Enyo have also increased their prices.
The price hike follows a decision by Dangote Refinery to temporarily stop selling petroleum products in Naira.
In a statement issued in March 2025, the refinery explained that this move was necessary to align its earnings with crude oil purchase costs, which are denominated in U.S. dollars.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars,” the company stated.
The refinery further clarified that its Naira-denominated sales had exceeded the volume of crude oil it received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under the same currency arrangement.
However, Dangote assured that sales in Naira would resume once additional crude shipments from NNPCL were secured.
This development comes amid an ongoing price war between Dangote Refinery and NNPCL.
In February 2025, Dangote reduced its ex-depot petrol price from ₦890 to ₦825 per litre, causing retail prices to drop to ₦860 in Lagos, ₦870 in the South-West, ₦880 in the North, and ₦890 in the South-South and South-East.
In response, NNPCL lowered its fuel prices, cutting the Lagos pump rate from ₦945 to ₦860, with similar reductions across the country.
Industry analysts have welcomed the competition, saying it will “reduce excessive profits” previously enjoyed by dominant players.
However, independent fuel marketers, who still rely on imports, have raised concerns over financial losses caused by the sudden price fluctuations.
To stabilize fuel prices and reduce dependency on foreign exchange, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in July 2024 instructed NNPCL to sell crude to Dangote Refinery and other local processors in Naira.
However, NNPCL disclosed that its six-month crude supply agreement with Dangote, which was denominated in Naira, expired in March 2025.
While negotiations for a new contract are ongoing, NNPCL revealed that it had supplied over 48 million barrels of crude to the refinery since October 2024 and more than 84 million barrels since its operations began in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has long struggled with energy challenges.
Despite owning state-run refineries, the country remained heavily dependent on imported fuel for decades, as government-owned facilities were largely inactive until 2024.
Fuel shortages and long queues at petrol stations are common, with pump prices skyrocketing from around ₦200 per litre to nearly ₦1,000 since President Bola Tinubu ended the fuel subsidy in May 2023.
Dangote Refinery, a $20 billion facility in Lagos, commenced operations in December 2024, processing 350,000 barrels per day.
The refinery, which initially faced regulatory hurdles, aims to reach its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of 2025.
It has already begun supplying diesel, aviation fuel, and petrol to the Nigerian market.