Many petrol marketers across Nigeria have refused to lower their pump prices even after Dangote Petroleum Refinery reduced its ex-depot price from ₦880 to ₦840 per litre.
The new price took effect on June 30, according to Dangote Group’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, who told The PUNCH: “PMS price has been reduced from ₦880 to ₦840 per litre effective 30th June.”
However, checks showed that most filling stations were still selling fuel at prices between ₦920 and ₦935 per litre in Lagos, Ogun, and other South West states as of Tuesday.
The President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, said petrol stations cannot reduce prices yet because they still have fuel bought at old, higher prices.
Gillis-Harry asked. “If you, as a Nigerian businessman, bought fuel at ₦920 and the price came down to ₦840, what would you do with the change? Multiply ₦80 by 45,000 litres—are you going to throw that away? That’s not possible.”He explained that retailers would wait until they sold off their current stock before selling at the new price.
“We need to exhaust existing stocks. That is the right business thing to do,” he said.
While some depot owners have already adjusted their prices—RainOil, Matrix, Pinnacle, Emadeb, and others dropped theirs to ₦845 per litre—filling stations have not followed suit.
Even Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) stations were still selling at ₦915 in Lagos and ₦925 in Ogun as of Tuesday.
In other areas like Warri and Port Harcourt, depot prices averaged ₦860 per litre, but pump prices remained high.
Marketers say the price will not drop immediately. “Let’s give it a week or two. Once the old stock goes down and crude prices remain stable, prices will start to drop,” said Eche Idoko, spokesperson of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria.
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The recent price drop by Dangote followed a fall in global crude oil prices after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire. Brent crude dropped to $67 per barrel from over $77, while WTI fell to $65 from $73.
Gillis-Harry also raised concerns over frequent price changes.
“These changes in prices need to be checked; they need to be justified,” he said.
He urged regulators to introduce a six-month price stability policy to protect marketers from losses.
He also called on NNPC to increase crude oil production for local refineries.
“We should do the best we can to produce enough crude oil for local refining,” he added
Meanwhile, fuel prices remain high across the country, especially in the North, where transport costs push prices to between ₦960 and ₦980 per litre.