The pump price of petrol has gone up for the second time in three weeks, selling at N1,020 at the outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) in Lagos and N1,050 in Abuja.
This adjustment, announced on Tuesday, marks the third price change in September and October 2024 and is part of the government’s deregulation policy, which allows prices to fluctuate based on supply and demand dynamics.
Despite the recent increase, analysts express confusion over this move, especially since crude oil prices in the international market have dropped approximately 8% to $72 per barrel from $78 per barrel. Additionally, reports from Abuja indicate that petrol prices there have surged to N1,060 per litre.
Interestingly, many NNPCL filling stations quickly updated their prices, while other operators remained unaware of the change and continued selling at the older rate. The ongoing depreciation of the Naira, which stands at N1,664 per dollar, continues to impact fuel pricing in the country.
However, the Spokesperson of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Olufemi Soneye, said he is not aware of any fresh Premium Motor Spirit pump price increase across its retail outlets.
Soneye’s comment came amid speculation that NNPCL had increased fuel pump to from N1,030 per litre to N1060 in Abuja. “There is no increase in gasoline price that I am aware of.”.
Similarly, the spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, said NNPCL’s ex-depot price has not changed.
“For independent marketers, we have experienced a fresh price hike as I am speaking with you. NNPCL still sells to us at the same price. For Port Harcourt, it is N1040 per litre; Abuja and Lagos are around N990 per litre,” he said on Tuesday.
