ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government of Nigeria ordered petroleum marketers on Monday to immediately lower retail petrol prices to reflect the recent decline in global crude oil costs.
Golden Info reports that Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, issued the directive during a stakeholders’ meeting at the headquarters of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Abuja.
Global crude prices fell to approximately $71 per barrel after surging above $118 per barrel in April. Despite this drop, the retail price of Premium Motor Spirit in Nigeria has only decreased from a peak of N1,596 ($1.06) per litre in May to N1,296 ($0.86) per litre.
“Temporary gains realised from inventories acquired at higher prices should not become the basis for sustaining elevated pump prices after replacement costs have declined. As inventories are replenished at lower costs, the benefits of those lower costs should be transmitted to consumers in a timely and transparent manner. That is the essence of a competitive and efficiently functioning market,” Lokpobiri said.
“Ordinarily, such movements in crude oil prices should be reflected in the pricing of refined petroleum products. While the initial increase in crude prices understandably exerted upward pressure on PMS prices, the subsequent moderation in crude oil prices has not translated into a commensurate reduction in pump prices across the domestic market,” the minister said.
The meeting included representatives from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria. The Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, stated that a similar intervention in the domestic gas sector recently led to a price reduction for liquefied petroleum gas.
The current inflation rate in the country stands at 15.9%, a reduction from 34% in 2024.