Tension Envelops Nigeria As Likely Petrol Price Hike To N1,500/Litre Unsettles Households

Tension Envelops Nigeria

 

OpenLife News reports that tension is rising across Nigeria as the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol, surged yesterday, with fears that it could soon hit N1,500 per litre and further strain household budgets.

Checks  showed that MRS, a major downstream marketer, raised its retail price in Lagos and environs to N1,310 per litre from N1,205 per litre. Other marketers followed, with pump prices now ranging between N1,315 and above N1,400 per litre.

Depot Prices Rise Despite Drop In Crude

The hike came even as international crude oil prices declined. Brent crude stood at $88.10 per barrel, down 0.47%, while West Texas Intermediate, WTI, fell to $83.40. The OPEC Basket was at $87.31.

Yet domestic depot prices remained elevated. The Daily Depot Price Intelligence Report for Friday, August 28, 2026, showed Warri recorded the highest PMS price at N1,217 per litre, followed by Port Harcourt at N1,214, Calabar at N1,204 and Lagos at N1,202. In Warri, Matrix depot sold at N1,217, while in Lagos, Aiteo and Dangote depots were listed at N1,200.

Analysts say the divergence highlights that Nigeria’s petrol market is now being driven more by local supply, refining, logistics and market structure than by crude oil benchmarks alone.

What Is Driving The Increase

Experts explained that pump prices do not move in direct proportion to crude because of other cost factors: refining margins, import parity, exchange rates, freight and marine logistics, storage and depot charges, financing costs, taxes, and competition among suppliers.

With locally refined products now competing with imports, and operating costs still high, marketers may be forced to maintain or raise pump prices to protect margins.

Impact On Households

The envisaged hike to N1,500 per litre has already unsettled households, transporters and businesses. Economists warn that higher fuel costs will trigger a ripple effect on transportation, food distribution, logistics and inflation.

“Where depot prices remain high despite softer crude, the burden will be passed to motorists,” an analyst noted. “That means higher transport fares, higher food prices, and more pressure on already stretched family incomes.”

Conversely, stronger competition among domestic refiners could limit how much of the increase gets to consumers — if alternative supply sources become available.

What Next

As of Friday, petrol was selling for as low as N1,203 per litre at Mainland and Soroman depots in Calabar, but the national trend is upward.

With the gap between international crude and domestic petrol widening, monitoring depot-to-pump transmission and regional price differences will be key to predicting how far prices will go and how deeply they will bite into the Nigerian economy.