Petrol prices have climbed to between N1,400 and N1,450 per litre across major Nigerian cities, according to checks conducted by Legit.ng, while the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has firmly rejected calls to restore the universal fuel subsidy regime.
Pump Prices Rise Across Lagos and Abuja
Legit.ng checks conducted on Sunday, September 13, found that pump prices in Lagos ranged from N1,400 to N1,430 per litre at most filling stations, with MRS stations selling at roughly N1,395 per litre. In Abuja, motorists were paying between N1,400 and N1,450 per litre, adding to the financial strain on households and businesses that rely on petrol for transport and power generation.
Previously, petrol prices averaged N1,300 per litre. The latest increases mark another round of adjustments following a series of price hikes by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
CPPE Rejects Subsidy Return
In a policy brief made available to Legit.ng, CPPE Chief Executive Officer Dr Muda Yusuf acknowledged that the price increases had created serious hardship for consumers and businesses, but firmly opposed a return to the old subsidy arrangement, as reported by the Nation.
Yusuf stated: "Restoring the pre-reform universal subsidy regime is neither fiscally sustainable nor economically prudent." He added: "The appropriate policy direction is to preserve the downstream petroleum reforms while aggressively mitigating their social and economic costs."
He argued that the debate should shift from whether to restore subsidies to how governments at all levels are deploying the revenues freed by their removal. Yusuf said: "The issue is increasingly one of fiscal accountability and expenditure quality. Federal, state and local governments must demonstrate transparently how the additional fiscal resources arising from the reform are improving economic and social outcomes."
Government Urged to Cut Transport and Energy Costs
Yusuf called for significant investment in mass transit, rail freight and logistics networks to bring down transportation costs. He also urged the government to speed up the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas, solar energy and other alternatives to reduce reliance on petrol.
On food security, he pressed for more investment in irrigation, rural infrastructure and agricultural logistics to boost domestic food production and ease inflation. The CPPE chief also highlighted the particular pressure facing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, noting that rising costs across energy, transport and financing were squeezing their competitiveness.
Yusuf said: "Citizens must see tangible benefits through improved public transportation, electricity, healthcare, education, food security, infrastructure and social protection." He closed by framing the long-term goal as converting the gains of the fuel subsidy reform into structural economic improvements rather than a return to the previous regime, as reported by Punch. He said: "That is the pathway to making the reform economically sustainable and socially defensible."
Dangote Raises Petrol Price Three Times in Nine Days
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised its Premium Motor Spirit gantry price by N65 on August 29, bringing the figure to N1,265 per litre and marking the third upward adjustment in less than two weeks. The refinery had previously moved its PMS price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre on August 20, then again to N1,200.
Taken together, the three increases added N100 per litre to the refinery's benchmark price in nine days.
