Automobile drivers in Lagos have resorted to frantic purchases of the product because of fear that gasoline prices may soon be revised upward. There have been rumors that oil marketers intended to increase the price of gasoline from the current N617 per litre to N720.
The price revision was reportedly brought on by the naira’s ongoing devaluation and the growing price of crude oil on the global market.
Oil marketers reportedly said on Sunday that should the naira weaken to 950/dollar from 910/dollar in the parallel market, the price of Premium Motor Spirit, often known as gasoline, will jump to between N680/litre and N720/litre in the next weeks. They also suggested that PMS importation plans by dealers were being delayed as a result of the scarcity of dollars to import the commodity.
The warning was issued just one week after the local currency broke through the 900/dollar barrier and reached above 945/dollar on Friday in the black market. However, there were lengthy lines at gas stations in Lagos on Monday night and Tuesday as drivers hurried to get gasoline ahead of the anticipated price increase.
Following the claims on Monday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited said, at around 11:48 p.m. on its official X (previously Twitter) profile, that it has no plans to raise the price of gasoline at the pump.
In contrast to NNPCL’s adjusted price of N617, gasoline reportedly sold for N650 per litre on Monday in the states of Borno, Oyo, and Delta. In July 2023, the landing price of gasoline had increased by 37.4% month over month, from N460 per litre. In Maiduguri, Borno State capital, petrol was sold between N625 and N655 at some private stations; and N635 at the NNPC Mega station on Tuesday. In Ibadan, Oyo State, many filling stations adjusted the petrol price from N580 to N690.
In Lagos, while many filling stations shut their gates against motorists, some were seen to have also adjusted prices from around N580/N600 litre, to around N610/litre. Some marketers were alleged to be hoarding products.
