Nigerians to Buy Petrol Above N1,000 Per Litre After New Price Review

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerians will officially begin to buy premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, above N1,000 per litre at retail stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, latest information reveals.

The NNPC has reportedly reviewed its pump price upwards to N998 per litre in Lagos and N1,030 per litre in Abuja.

The recent development comes after the state-owned oil firm decided to terminate its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery.

This new price increase comes less than a month after the organisation raised the prices from N615 to N897 per litre in Abuja and N568 per litre in Lagos to N855 per litre.

On Monday, Business Post reported that the NNPC is ending its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery, opening up the market for other marketers to buy petrol directly from the refinery.

This means the NNPC will no longer be the sole off-taker, and marketers can now negotiate prices directly with Dangote Refinery.

It was predicted that this would cause panic buying among consumers in anticipation of a possible increase in pump prices, which has become a reality.

Analysts note that this aligns with the current practices for fully deregulated products, where refineries can sell directly to marketers on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.