The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has increased the price of petrol in Lagos to N1,025 per litre.
The new price announced on Tuesday sees a jump from N998.
This comes despite an 8% fall in the price of crude oil in the international market from $78 per barrel to $72.
In Abuja, the national oil firm raised the retail price of petrol to N1,060 from N1,030 per litre, across NNPCL stations in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday.
The new petrol price in Abuja is an increase of N30 from the old price, while in Lagos it is an increase of N27.
This adjustment also marks the third price change between September and October 2024 and is part of the government’s deregulation policy, which allows prices to fluctuate based on supply and demand dynamics.
Experts and key followers of the Nigerian oil and gas sector fear inflation in the country may further skyrocket following the latest hike, after it rose to a 28-year high (34.2 per cent) in June, which could compound the hardship in the country.
Though there has not been any official statement from the NNPCL on the latest increase in petrol prices – just like the oil firm did during their last hike earlier this month – the NNPCL hinted at a fresh price increase when it began loading its first batch of petrol from the Dangote Refinery in mid-September.
Then, it announced that it got petrol at N898 per litre from the private refinery and that it would sell it for N950 per litre in Lagos and N1,019 in Borno.
Dangote Refinery instantly denied selling petrol to the NNPCL at N898 but the latter challenged the refinery to release the price it sold the product.
The NNPCL further released a breakdown of pricing for Dangote petrol at its filling stations across the country.
Last December, Dangote, Africa’s leading industrialist, commenced operations at his $20bn facility sited in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day.
Analysts expressed confusion over the latest hike, especially since crude oil prices in the international market had dropped approximately eight per cent to $72 per barrel from $78 per barrel.
The market price has not settled yet,” President, Petroleum Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, told The PUNCH.
Petrol price has more than quadrupled since President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023.
The increase keeps compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles and generator sets with petrol amid epileptic electricity supply.
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