Nigerians lament hardship as petrol nears N1,500 and govt offers no relief

Nigerians are facing another sharp increase in the cost of getting around and running their homes and businesses as petrol prices approach N1,500 per litre, adding to the pressure on households already struggling with high living costs.

Petrol sold for as much as N1,450 per litre in Abuja on Monday, while prices in Lagos reached N1,400. Several filling stations increased their prices within days, in some cases by more than N100 per litre.

The latest increases followed an N85 jump in Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s petrol gantry price, from N1,265 to N1,350 per litre, effective September 12. The refinery has now raised its petrol price by N185, or about 15.9%, since August 21.

The immediate trigger is the surge in international crude prices caused by the escalating conflict involving the United States and Iran and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude has traded above $100 a barrel, raising the cost of crude and refined petroleum products globally.

But for Nigerians, the geopolitical crisis is being felt much closer to home. Every increase at the pump feeds into transport fares, food prices, deliveries, school runs and the cost of operating small businesses.

For households already squeezed by the loss of purchasing power since the removal of the petrol subsidy and the naira’s devaluation, another fuel shock leaves little room to absorb higher costs.

In Abuja, filling stations including Optima, Empire, Mobil and others raised prices to between N1,400 and N1,450 per litre. In Lagos, prices at outlets operated by Conoil, NNPC, Bovas, MRS, TotalEnergies and AP also rose, with some increases of more than N100 per litre from the previous week.

The increases are already raising fears of another round of transport fare increases. For many Nigerians, the problem is not simply that petrol has become expensive. It is that everything else has become expensive with it, while incomes have not kept pace.

One X user, Oloye, summed up the frustration over the end of the subsidy regime, saying the cheap petrol had helped keep transportation and food costs down, while the savings from its removal had not translated into benefits ordinary Nigerians could feel.

Another user, Mahmud Galandanchi, said the cost of transportation had become so severe that some people in Abuja and Lagos were sleeping in offices and mosques close to their workplaces to avoid daily commuting costs.

“Fuel is slowly rising to 1,500 per liter and nobody is saying anything,” another user, Lerry, wrote. “How much longer do we have to endure before enough is enough?”

The government says the crisis is global

The federal government has continued to defend the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that it created fiscal space and prevented a deeper economic crisis.

In August, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the savings from subsidy removal and other reforms were creating resources for infrastructure, security, human capital and social protection. The government has also rejected calls to restore the old subsidy regime, saying doing so would undermine the country’s fiscal position and reverse economic gains.

The latest petrol increase, however, exposes a weakness in that argument for millions of Nigerians: when another external shock hits, the cost reaches households almost immediately, while the promised protection is far less visible.

Nigeria is itself a major crude oil producer. Yet the price Nigerians pay for petrol remains heavily exposed to international oil prices because domestic fuel pricing is linked to the cost of crude, refining and replacement supplies.

That creates a particularly painful contradiction. When international oil prices rise, an oil-producing country such as Nigeria can receive higher revenues from its crude exports. But Nigerians at home can simultaneously face higher petrol prices, transport costs and food bills.

Energy economist Muda Yusuf described the situation as a double-edged sword, saying higher crude prices can increase government revenue while ordinary citizens feel the impact through higher transport and food costs.

Three years after subsidy removal

The latest increase comes more than three years after President Bola Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy in May 2023.

The policy immediately pushed petrol prices sharply higher and was followed by increases in transportation, logistics and production costs. The subsequent naira devaluation further increased the cost of imported goods and inputs.

The government has repeatedly said that the difficult reforms were necessary and that the savings would ultimately benefit Nigerians. The government has refused and failed to introduce safety nets to cushion the impact of the reform. It has also not explained how it applied the savings from petrol subsidy to helping its citizens.

But for people who spend a significant share of their income simply getting to work, taking children to school or buying food, petrol remains one of the most direct measures of whether those promised gains have reached them.