Nigeria Labour Congress condemns petrol price hikes

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned recent increases in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), labeling the hikes “avoidable and unacceptable.” The NLC's Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, questioned why the federal government has not ensured adequate local crude oil supplies to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, particularly as international oil prices have declined.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has implemented three price adjustments within an eight-day period, raising its gantry price by a total of N100 per litre. This brings the refinery's gantry price to N1,265 per litre. Consequently, marketers have passed logistics costs to consumers, with pump prices reaching N1,310 in parts of Lagos and Ogun, and up to N1,400 per litre in northern regions.

Upah warned that these rising costs will exacerbate economic hardships for workers and low-income households already facing high food and transportation inflation. He noted that despite the refinery's 650,000-barrel daily capacity, supply disputes currently force the facility to import up to 40 per cent of its crude oil.