Transport fares have increased across several parts of Nigeria following another surge in petrol prices, with the product now selling for as much as ₦1,400 per litre in some locations as global crude oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel.
Fresh market data showed that ex-depot prices rose across Lagos, Warri and Calabar, increasing the cost at which petroleum marketers obtain products and forcing filling stations and transport operators to adjust their prices.
In Lagos, A.A. Rano raised its ex-depot price from ₦1,275 to ₦1,279 per litre, while African Terminal, Ascon, Gulf Treasure, Integrated and T.Time increased their prices to ₦1,275 per litre.
Aiteo, Heyden and NIPCO retained their existing prices at ₦1,275 per litre, while Emadeb reduced its rate slightly from ₦1,278 to ₦1,274 per litre.
The adjustments followed the resumption of gantry loading of Premium Motor Spirit in naira by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery after a one-week suspension.
The refinery resumed loading on Thursday but raised its ex-depot petrol price to ₦1,215 per litre, an increase of ₦140, or 13.02 per cent, from the previous price of ₦1,075 per litre.
Dangote Refinery had suspended gantry and coastal loading on July 15 after introducing a dollar-denominated pricing system for its refined petroleum products.
Under the temporary dollar-based arrangement, petrol was sold at $0.779 per litre, Automotive Gas Oil, popularly known as diesel, at $1.087 per litre, and Jet A1 aviation fuel at $0.942 per litre.
The refinery reportedly attributed the switch to difficulties in obtaining sufficient crude oil through the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, which was designed to supply domestic refineries with crude in exchange for naira payments.
The increase has triggered frustration among Nigerians, who accused petroleum marketers of quickly raising pump prices whenever international crude prices rise but failing to reduce them at the same speed when global prices fall.
Before the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, Brent crude had declined to about $70 per barrel, close to its February level. However, consumers said petrol prices remained above ₦1,000 per litre despite having sold for about ₦700 before the United States-Iran conflict.
Although the Federal Government reportedly summoned marketers and demanded that domestic fuel prices reflect the earlier decline in international crude prices, consumers said no significant reduction was implemented before renewed hostilities pushed crude prices upward again.
In the Federal Capital Territory, residents said transportation now consumes an increasingly large portion of their earnings, with commuters reporting fare increases of between 20 and 40 per cent on some routes compared with prices recorded a few weeks earlier.
A civil servant, Grace Okeke, said every increase in petrol prices immediately translated into higher transportation expenses, even though workers’ salaries remained unchanged.
“My salary has not changed, but I now spend much more just getting to work and back. It is becoming impossible to survive in Abuja,” she said.
Another Abuja resident, Musa Ibrahim, warned that the rising transportation costs would inevitably increase food prices because farmers, traders and transporters would transfer the additional expenses to consumers.
“Transportation affects everything. Farmers, traders and transporters will simply transfer the additional cost to consumers. Ordinary Nigerians are the ones paying the price,” he said.
Commercial drivers also said they had little choice but to adjust fares to remain in business.
A taxi operator, Emmanuel Ujah, said frequent petrol price changes had made it difficult for drivers to plan their daily operations because they could not predict what the product would cost the following day.
Another driver, Ganiyu Jide, said fuel now consumes the largest portion of his daily earnings, adding that operators would be unable to maintain their vehicles or provide for their families unless they increased fares.
In Lagos, commercial transport operators have started reviewing fares on several busy routes, although competition among bus operators has prevented a uniform increase across the city.
Petrol is also being sold at different prices by filling stations, depending on the marketer, location and source of supply, creating additional uncertainty for drivers who may need to purchase fuel several times in one day.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, transportation fares remained relatively stable despite petrol selling between ₦1,260 and ₦1,300 per litre.
BOVAS stations sold the product at ₦1,260 per litre, while Amazing Filling Station dispensed petrol at ₦1,300.
A commercial driver, Kamoru Iyanda, said operators could not continue increasing fares every time petrol prices rose because many passengers could not afford further increases.
“It is difficult to adjust fares every time because passengers cannot afford it. Sometimes we absorb the losses,” he said.
Another driver, Amoo Saheed, said the continued instability in fuel prices had substantially reduced the earnings of transport operators.
In Ilorin, Kwara State, major and independent marketers increased pump prices by between ₦35 and ₦85 per litre.
AP raised its price from ₦1,220 to ₦1,290 per litre, while BOVAS and Abanik sold at ₦1,260. NIPCO increased its price to ₦1,300, while Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stations sold at ₦1,305 per litre.
Optimal sold petrol at ₦1,255, External at ₦1,298, Shafa and Atgris at ₦1,300, TotalEnergies at ₦1,285 and Olak at ₦1,260 per litre.
Residents warned that the increases would affect transportation fares and the prices of goods and services, urging the government to take urgent steps to stabilise the market and protect Nigerians from a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
One resident, Ola Yemi, described the situation as disturbing and criticised government policies, alleging that authorities appeared more concerned about raising revenue than addressing the hardship confronting ordinary Nigerians.
In Kaduna, petrol now sells for approximately ₦1,350 per litre after falling below ₦1,200 only a few weeks earlier.
A commercial driver, Hassan Ya’u Kanti, said he had purchased petrol for about ₦1,190 per litre days earlier but was now paying ₦1,350, adding that uncertainty over future prices had become unbearable.
He said passengers frequently blamed drivers for increases in transportation fares without considering the higher cost of operating their vehicles.
In Adamawa State, NNPCL stations sold petrol at ₦1,310 per litre, while A.A. Rano, Eterna and other independent marketers dispensed the product for between ₦1,360 and ₦1,370 per litre.
The Commercial Manager of Adamawa Sunshine Transport Company, Aminu Muhammad, said the company would monitor market developments for several weeks before deciding whether to increase its fares.
“We don’t rush into increasing transport charges. We usually monitor developments for several weeks before taking any decision,” he said.
Transport fares also remained largely unchanged in Kano, where commercial tricycle operators said they were waiting to determine whether petrol prices would stabilise before making any adjustments.
A tricycle operator, Hayatu Usman, said the latest increase was not yet sufficient to justify an immediate fare increase.
Passengers across Kano also confirmed that they were still paying the previous rates, with a Bayero University Kano student, Mujahid Aminu, saying he continued to pay ₦300 from Zawaciki to the university’s new campus.
The situation was different in Maiduguri, Borno State, where independent filling stations sold petrol for between ₦1,370 and ₦1,390 per litre.
Transportation fares from Maiduguri to Kano increased from ₦20,000 to ₦25,000 following the rise in fuel prices.
The Borno State Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Kuluwu, said frequent price changes were discouraging marketers from purchasing and transporting products.
According to him, a marketer could buy fuel at a high price only for the market price to fall before the consignment arrived in Maiduguri, exposing the operator to significant losses.
Small businesses that depend on petrol-powered generators also complained about the impact of the increase on their operating costs.
A barber, Chinedu Nwafor, said he now spends significantly more on petrol for transportation and electricity generation and may be forced to raise the prices of his services.
An energy law expert at the University of Lagos, Professor Dayo Ayoade, attributed the situation to the realities of Nigeria’s deregulated petroleum market, explaining that domestic petrol prices are now directly linked to international crude oil prices and exchange-rate movements.
Ayoade said the Petroleum Industry Act provides for market-based pricing and limits the ability of the Federal Government and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to intervene except where there are clear market abnormalities.
He argued that Nigeria’s crude oil commitments under existing financing arrangements had substantially reduced the quantity of crude available to local refineries.
According to him, the naira-for-crude arrangement had been of limited benefit to Dangote Refinery, forcing the company to import crude and incur much of its expenditure in foreign currency.
He warned that Nigeria would remain exposed to global oil shocks and price increases caused by the United States-Iran conflict for as long as the hostilities continued.
Ayoade said an expansion of the naira-for-crude programme could have insulated consumers but alleged that a significant portion of Nigeria’s crude cargoes had already been committed under cash-backed arrangements, leaving only limited volumes for domestic refineries.
Another industry analyst, Abdullahi Shehu, urged the Federal Government to subsidise crude oil supplied to Dangote and other local refineries in naira.
He argued that the government could subsidise crude by about ₦700 per litre to enable local refineries to sell petrol to Nigerians for approximately ₦500 per litre, rather than allowing funds saved from the removal of fuel subsidy to be mismanaged.
Economist and oil and gas expert Dr Marcel Okeke said the Federal Government’s economic reforms could not be considered successful if they failed to improve citizens’ welfare and standard of living.
Okeke noted that petrol sold for less than ₦200 per litre in May 2023 but had subsequently risen to about ₦800 and later between ₦1,300 and ₦1,400 following the escalation of the Middle East conflict, with the possibility of reaching ₦1,500.
He accused the government of failing to repair Nigeria’s state-owned refineries and reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
According to him, vested interests benefiting from the continued importation of refined products had frustrated efforts to make local refineries fully operational.
Meanwhile, global crude oil prices rose above $100 per barrel on Thursday, raising expectations that marketers could further increase domestic fuel prices because of higher importation and replacement costs.
As of 4:40 p.m. West African Time, Brent crude had increased by 7.43 per cent to $101.10 per barrel, while the United States benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, rose by 6.77 per cent to $92.71 per barrel.
The increases pushed global oil prices up by approximately 20 per cent within two weeks.
The latest rally followed renewed security concerns in the Red Sea after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for attacks on two Saudi Arabian oil tankers travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The attacks heightened concerns about supply disruptions along one of the world’s most important energy transportation routes.
Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on its Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu to transport crude and reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the attacks reportedly forced several vessels to delay their journeys or change routes, increasing shipping expenses and raising fears of tighter global oil supplies.
Market pressure also intensified beyond the Middle East, with Kazakhstan reportedly reducing oil production after drone attacks disrupted operations at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal on the Black Sea.
Indian state-owned refineries also suspended Iraqi crude cargoes because of security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, while Russian fuel exports remained limited following months of attacks on the country’s refinery infrastructure.
Nigerians have urged the Federal Government and relevant regulatory authorities to take urgent action to stabilise petrol prices, protect existing jobs and businesses and prevent the latest increases from worsening transportation costs, food inflation and the country’s broader cost-of-living crisis.
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