Nigerian state oil firm NNPC Ltd on Monday increased the price of petrol by 11%, the second increase in two weeks and a day after it started purchasing the fuel from the giant Dangote oil refinery on the outskirts of Lagos.
Nigeria expects the 650,000 barrels per day refinery to end years of imports of gasoline, which had been subsidised for decades until President Bola Tinubu began removing support when he took office in May last year.
The price of gasoline is a sensitive issue in Nigeria because many households and small businesses use it to power generators because the majority of citizens are not connected to the national electricity grid.
On Monday, NNPC said it had increased gasoline prices from 858 naira ($0.53) a litre to 950 naira in Lagos and as high as 1,019 naira in northeastern states. It said it buys the product at 898 naira per litre from the refinery.
NNPC said it had started buying the fuel from Dangote on Sunday in U.S. dollars and that a deal to purchase gasoline in the local naira currency was still to take effect.
The latest increase is likely to add to public anger as Nigerians are already struggling with inflation of 33.4%, which has driven up transport costs and caused a cost of living crisis that led to violent protests in early August.
On Friday, a Nigerian presidential committee announced that NNPC would distribute gasoline from the $20 billion Dangote refinery to the local market, ending a deadlock that had stalled distribution.
From October NNPC will supply 385,000 barrels of crude per day to be paid for in naira by Dangote refinery, which will in turn sell its fuel in the local currency.
Latest Stories
-
Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites amid citizens running into debt
35 mins -
Boeing to axe 17,000 jobs amid strike and quality concerns
47 mins -
US urges Israel to stop shooting at UN peacekeepers in Lebanon
56 mins -
Philip Osei Bonsu – OB: The meteoric rise from Elubo to the Ghana Bar
3 hours -
Africa health chief criticises US Marburg travel advice
3 hours -
Ramaphosa won’t be charged over farm scandal – SA prosecutor
3 hours -
Cameroon bans reports on President Biya’s health
3 hours -
Police refute claims of returning Barker-Vormawor to custody over unpaid medical expenses
4 hours -
64-year-old Canada-based Ghanaian doctor charged with sexually assaulting female patient
4 hours -
Agenda 111 will improve health facilities – Dormaahene to Bawumia
4 hours -
Six die in gory accident at Atwedie on Accra-Kumasi road
5 hours -
Driver feared dead after head-on collision at Gomoa Mangoase [Photos]
5 hours -
CANEX 2024 set to celebrate African excellence in sports, Kannywood, and culture
5 hours -
IPADA Initiatives: Launching the new African tourism super-economy
5 hours -
Galamsey: Catholic Church petitions Akufo-Addo to declare state of emergency
6 hours