The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) called on the Federal Government to urgently introduce measures to cushion the impact of the rising price of petrol, including the payment of reasonable wage awards to workers and the sale of crude oil to local refineries in naira.
The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit has continued to rise across states, with the product selling for as much as N1,500 per litre in Kano, Yobe, Sokoto, Borno, Taraba and Zamfara, while prices have also risen sharply in other parts of the country.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, the NLC reported that petrol is now sold at roughly N1,430 per litre in major cities, while prices are said to be even higher in areas that are harder to reach.
The labour union cautioned that the escalating price of petrol would deepen the economic hardship Nigerians are already facing, pointing out that when transportation costs go up, they usually push up the prices of food, rent, school fees and other essential goods and services as well.
Fuel marketers also threw their weight behind the NLC in urging the Federal Government to step into the petrol market, cautioning that the price could climb to N2,000 per litre should international crude oil prices keep rising, even as stakeholders pressed the government to check Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s expanding hold on the market.
Motorists and residents who depend heavily on petrol for transportation, power generation and other daily needs have continued to feel the strain from this situation.
At several of the filling stations visited, motorists were spotted waiting in queues to buy the product, while others went from one station to the next looking for cheaper petrol and shorter lines.
In a statement titled “Save the Situation Now,” the NLC noted that the most recent hike occurred just as government pressure on oil marketers to lower pump prices—in response to falling international crude prices—was starting to yield results.
The NLC says the latest spike has been tied to renewed conflict in the Gulf, yet because Nigeria is an oil-producing nation, it ought to be able to offer some shield against shocks in the international oil market.
It stated, “As a nation, and as a people endowed with enormous fossil resources, we are deserving of a certain level of protection or buffer against the gales from the Gulf. Indeed, other gales.”
The NLC called on the Federal Government to roll out measures without delay to protect households and businesses from the effects of the higher fuel prices.
In particular, it demanded reasonable wage awards for workers, adequate crude oil sales in naira to local refineries. An expansion of the country’s national petroleum storage capacity to bolster energy security and get ready for emergencies.
The labour union said these measures would not only lighten the burden on Nigerians but also generate jobs, create economic value, and help tackle emerging security challenges
It further maintained that government intervention, subsidies included, should not be taken off the table in an emergency.
“There is nothing wrong with the government subsidising the needs of citizens, especially in emergency situations like this,” Ajaero said, adding that oil-producing countries were introducing different forms of intervention or palliatives to protect their citizens from the effects of the current global energy crisis.
The NLC went on to say that the Federal Government had gained from higher international crude prices, asserting that crude was presently selling at roughly $35 to $40 per barrel above the benchmark applied in the national budget.
It contended that this extra revenue ought to be seen as a windfall capable of creating fiscal room for measures designed to shield citizens from the growing cost of living.
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The union also voiced worries about the reported importation of crude by certain local refineries, calling the situation at odds with the goal of building up domestic refining capacity.
“On a long-term basis, we are equally concerned that local refineries are importing crude.
This is unreasonable and unacceptable and defeats the logic and purpose of local capacity,” the statement said.
The most recent rise in petrol prices occurs as Nigeria continues its wider shift toward a deregulated downstream petroleum sector, a change set in motion by the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023.
This policy has made domestic fuel prices more directly responsive to shifts in crude oil prices, foreign exchange costs, logistics, and other market forces.
In response, the government and oil-sector regulators have rolled out measures designed to boost domestic refining and lessen Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products.
Bringing large-scale private refining capacity online and expanding its output, together with efforts to rehabilitate government-owned refineries, have likewise been central to the Federal Government’s plan to strengthen domestic fuel supply and limit exposure to volatility in international markets.
Nevertheless, swings in crude prices, exchange rates, and supply-chain costs keep shaping pump prices and transportation costs, which in turn affect household purchasing power and inflation.
The NLC stated that the government must act swiftly instead of letting the burden rest entirely on workers and other citizens.
Ajaero stated that the Federal Government, which he noted was seeking re-election in the coming months, “cannot afford to stand and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation.”
“Labour has an obligation to speak out or act accordingly,” he added.
Fuel marketers teamed up with the NLC to urge the Federal Government to step into the petrol market, cautioning that prices might climb to N2,000 per litre should international crude oil prices keep climbing, as stakeholders also pressed the government to limit Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s expanding control over the market.
These appeals came after the Dangote refinery’s most recent hike in the gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly referred to as petrol.
Effective Saturday, September 12, the refinery raised the price from N1,265 to N1,350 per litre, which amounts to an N85 increase, or 6.7 per cent.
In a memo sent to customers, the refinery disclosed the updated prices, saying, “Dear valued customer, please find below the revised DPRP PMS gantry and coastal price, which is effective 12th September 2026.”
The refinery also raised its coastal price by N113,987, or 6.8 per cent, bringing it to N1,783,530 from N1,669,543. Customers who already had loading arrangements in place were instructed to submit their Automated Truck Certificates for repricing.
This most recent adjustment marks the fourth upward revision of the Dangote refinery’s petrol gantry price since August 21. On August 21, Dangote had pushed the price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre, then raised it to N1,200 on August 26.
It later increased the price to N1,265 on August 29 and has now added a further N85 per litre, bringing the gantry price to N1,350 within three weeks. These repeated increases have driven the refinery’s petrol price up by N185 per litre, or roughly 15.9 per cent, over 22 days.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that the Dangote-backed MRS filling station in Alapere, Lagos, moved its price from N1,310 to N1,395. Along the same axis, the price stood at N1,385 at the Mobil filling station.
Chinedu Ukadike, the Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, stated that climbing international crude oil prices would keep driving up the cost of petroleum products unless the government stepped in.
Ukadike said, “Petrol prices will continue to go up if the crude oil price continues to rise. So we are crying for the intervention of the presidential committee on crude oil. Let them see what can be done for Nigerians to alleviate this incessant increase. That’s because rising oil prices are definitely going to continue to increase the price of petroleum products.”
Ukadike called on the government to look into supplying crude to domestic refineries at a price somewhat different from the international market, while also revisiting certain statutory charges tied to shipping and product distribution.
According to him, the government could soften the effect of rising crude prices on consumers by scrapping or lowering some of the taxes and fees that agencies such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and others impose on petroleum products.
“What they will do is to look for a price that is slightly different from the international market and look at other fees associated with the distribution of petroleum products, like some of the NIMASA fees and others.
They should try to see whether there will be a zero tax on some of these government taxes on shipping from NMDPRA and the rest of them. All these things will cushion the effect of the price of petroleum products at the pumps. This will also help us,” he stated.
The IPMAN spokesperson further urged a boost in steady crude oil supply to Dangote and other domestic refineries, suggesting a system in which refineries would get enough crude to cover 60 to 90 days of their needs. They are not impacted by shifts in global prices.
According to him, such an arrangement would let refiners plan with more confidence about feedstock costs and lessen the direct impact of international crude price swings on locally refined products.
“They (the government) should also ensure the supply of crude oil at a very large quantity for Dangote for a sufficient period of 60 to 90 days, with a reservoir. That will make the product stable.
“This issue of steady supply based on the price of crude oil in the international market will definitely destabilise the economy and dwindle the stability of the naira. That’s because so many naira will be chasing few goods,” Ukadike added.
He recognized the Federal Government’s stance against reinstating fuel price controls, yet he maintained that a crude supply arrangement for domestic refineries could offer a degree of stability without necessarily setting the retail price of petrol.
