Experts explain why NNPCL filling stations changed their prices.

NLC calls an action a betrayal.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited filling stations updated their meters to reflect the new prices on the day Dangote Refinery started supplying petrol, promising to have the product available in the market in 48 hours.

This move was taken in the midst of a nationwide shortage of the commodity for some time.

Regarding the new pricing structure, the national oil company remained silent.
Later in the day, the business acknowledged that it had released a price template broken down by city that was making the rounds on social media.

NNPCL had not formally notified members of the price rise, according to IPMAN (Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria) spokesman Ukadike Chinedu.
According to him, depot owners and marketers were waiting on additional instructions from the company.
Experts, however, gave reasons the oil giant might have effected the price change.

Petrol which sold for N568 at NNPCL filling stations in Lagos went for N855 per litre.
Filling stations owned by the oil company raised the price to N897 in Abuja, where it was selling for N617.
The upward evaluation followed NNPCL's admission over the weekend that it owed suppliers $6 billion, which made them hesitant to provide the product to them.

The business issued a warning, saying that the circumstances might prevent it from providing Nigerians with access to the product.

According to a prior statement from the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Umar Ajiya, the NNPCL was selling petrol for half the landing cost and was handling the supply system gap.
The increased pricing was rejected by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

It demanded that it be reversed right away.

In a statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero called the rise a "betrayal" following the Federal Government promised no pump price hike as a condition for the N70,000 minimum wage.
Other marketers jacked up prices to N897 per litre following NNPCL’s adjustment – by over 30 per cent.
The Federal Government did not order NNPCL to set fuel prices at N1,000, according to State Minister of Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri.

The reports were characterised as "blatantly false and malicious claims regarding petroleum pricing directive" by his media adviser, Nnemaka Okafor.
"The Ministry of Petroleum Resources refrains from meddling in NNPCL's internal decision-making, including matters related to pricing, and it never will," he declared.

Certain parties stated that the rise was inevitable.

They think it will lessen the NNPCL's and the federal government's burden with subsidies.
Henry Adigun, an oil and gas expert, stated that although the price hike was a step in the right direction towards resolving the subsidy issue, it did not eliminate the necessity for complete deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.

If market rates don't match those of foreign products prices, NNPCL will remain the sole importer,” Adigun said.

He welcomed the commencement of petrol production by Dangote Refinery but noted that supply would hinge on favourable market conditions.
"By year's end, subsidies would have increased to N10t."

Dr. Muda Yusuf, the managing director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), pleaded with Nigerians to be understanding of the Federal Government at this “tough period”.

He claimed that although the product sold for between N610 and N700, the government was subsidising each litre of gasoline with roughly N500.
He issued a warning, saying that if the nation kept going in that direction, subsidy payments would have increased to between N8 trillion and N10 trillion by year's end.

"The subsidy figure rose to this level because of the naira's depreciation as all petroleum products consumed locally are imported," Yusuf stated.In addition, the cost of the goods in the area and the West African sub-region had widened and it is sold at an equivalent of between N1300 to N1500 per litre.
“The incentive for smuggling is very high and with our huge porous border and waterways largely unmanned there is little or nothing those entrusted with that duty can do.
"In this context, the government was providing subsidies not only to its inhabitants but also to the Central African Republic and the entire West African subregion.

"The government is confronted with a dilemma in part because of this."
According to him, with the increased price of N855 per litre, there's a chance the government may be partially subsidising petrol.

As the nation stood on the verge of bankruptcy, Yusuf stated, "This must be a tipping point for the government." The NNPC acknowledged as much, citing its debt of more over $6 billion.

"Due to the high cost of operating, the current situation is unacceptable to both the private sector and the citizens."
With others in the pipeline, he expressed hope that the government would work with the Dangote Refinery to make sure the pump price stays below this level.

Yusuf urged the government to implement budgetary measures that would allow people to switch to alternative energy sources including wind, solar, LPG, and compressed natural gas.

"In order to encourage people to shift away from fossil fuels, we must subsidise this," he stated. In contrast to the current situation, where it takes one to two weeks to deliver petroleum products to other cities across the nation due to the collapse of the railway, the government is once again forced to adopt an efficient logistics and transportation strategy to ensure that products reach the people on time.
Undoubtedly, all of these raise the price. The government of Nigeria is undoubtedly on the correct route to expand the economy, therefore I will only ask Nigerians to exercise a bit more patience.

For N13,000, black marketers in Abuja supplied petrol in 10-liter containers.

Retail establishments saw never-ending lines that drove up transportation costs despite the boost.
Byazhin Across, which was N300 by tricycle, was N500 from Kubwa bus stop.

Kubwa to Nyanya, which was N800, increased to N1,000, while Kubwa to Berger, which was earlier N600, shot to N800.

NLC insists on reversal.
NLC stated that, in light of the most recent increase in the price of petrol at the pump, it felt deceived by the Federal Government.

In an Ajaero statement, the Labour Centre recommended that the government undo the increase in prices.

Ajaero said the organs of the NLC would meet in the coming days and decide on its next move.
He said: “We are filled with a deep sense of betrayal as the Federal Government clandestinely increases the pump price of PMS.

“One of the reasons for accepting N70,000 as the national minimum wage was the understanding that the pump price of PMS would not be increased even as we knew that N70,000 was not sufficient.
"We remember clearly when Mr. President presented us with the devil's choices: N70,000 (at previous PMS rates) or N250,000 as minimum wage (subject to an increase in the pump price between N1,500 and N2,000). We chose the latter because we could not bring ourselves to accept more punishment meted out to Nigerians.

"Yet here we are, a mere month later, facing an incomprehensible reality as the government has not yet started paying the new national minimum wage.

It's terrifying as well as traumatic.

"But, the government's front-row cheerleaders sneered at us, claiming we did not understand basic economics, when we told it that its approach to resolving the fuel subsidy contradictions was obviously flawed and would not last."