Petrol Hits N1,500/Litre: NLC Demands Government Action as Fuel Crisis Deepens

By: Abudu Olalekan

Petrol prices have gone through the roof—now hitting N1,500 per litre in Kano, Yobe, Sokoto, Borno, Taraba, and Zamfara states. And it’s not just the north feeling the pinch. Prices are climbing everywhere.

The Nigeria Labour Congress isn’t having it. They want the Federal Government to step in, pronto. Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, signed off on a statement calling for wage awards for workers and crude oil sales to local refineries priced in naira.

“This is insane,” a Damaturu resident, Hassan Auwalu, told our reporter. “N1,500 per litre. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Yeah, me neither.

The Ripple Effect

Here’s the thing about petrol prices—once they go up, everything else follows. Transportation costs spike. Food prices jump. Rent goes up. Schools charge more. It’s a domino effect, and ordinary Nigerians are caught right in the middle.

Fuel marketers are warning it could get worse. Way worse. Like, N2,000 per litre worse.

Some are pointing fingers at Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s growing dominance in the market. Others say the government needs to step in before things spiral completely out of control.

State by State: The Price Check

Yobe: N1,500 to N1,520 in Damaturu. Residents are struggling.

Kano: Between N1,460 and N1,500. Tricycle operators—those “yan’ adaidaita sahu” guys—have jacked up fares by 50%. Short trips used to cost N200. Now? N300 minimum.

Sokoto: N1,465 to N1,500. Up from N1,365 just recently.

Borno: N1,500 in Maiduguri. Motorists confirm the painful reality.

Taraba: N1,500 to N1,700 depending on location. Transportation costs set to rise even further.

Zamfara: N1,450 to N1,500 in Gusau. Used to be N1,350.

Kaduna: Up to N1,450 at some stations. NNPC Mega stations are slightly cheaper at N1,439.

Benue: N1,430 to N1,470 in Makurdi. Transport fares jumping from N400 to N600 for the same routes.

Jigawa: N1,460 to N1,480 at regular stations. Black market? N2,000 and above. No kidding.

Kogi: N1,400 to N1,450 in Lokoja.

Plateau: N1,450 to N1,470 in Jos. Workers commuting from Bukuru and Rukuba to Terminus Market are feeling it hard.

Bauchi: N1,460 in the metropolis, N1,470 on the outskirts. Just N10 difference, but that N10 matters when you’re filling up.

Adamawa: N1,400 to N1,470 in Yola. Mubi? Worse. N1,700 to N1,850. Border towns always get hit hardest.

Rivers: N1,400 in Port Harcourt. Slightly lower at NNPC Rumuodomaya—N1,385.

Abia: N1,350 to N1,440. Prices changing by the hour, honestly.

Delta: N1,350 in Warri and Effurun. Some tricycle operators turning to black market just to stay afloat.

Bayelsa: Around N1,400 in Yenagoa.

Ekiti: N1,380 to N1,450 in Ado Ekiti.

Edo: N1,395 to N1,425 in Benin. Auchi and Ekpoma hovering around N1,410 to N1,420.

Kwara: N1,379 to N1,405 in Ilorin. TotalEnergies charging the highest—N1,405. Abramik the lowest at N1,379.

What People Are Saying

Madam Cecilia Njoku, a civil servant, had to make a tough call. “I had to drop my car at home because I can no longer afford petrol.” That’s devastating, honestly.

At a Prime Power filling station in Makurdi, attendant Debby—yeah, that’s what she goes by—said sales have tanked. “Most of our customers now are commercial motorcyclists. Ask yourself how many litres of fuel they buy in a day?”

Samson Oghenero from Delta parked his car and started taking buses. “I had no choice,” he said.

In Abeokuta, a resident named Olamide appealed directly: “Please help us beg the Federal Government and Dangote about the hike in fuel price. We are begging them not to squeeze us, the poor masses.”

You can feel the desperation.

NLC Speaks Out

The Labour Congress fired off a statement titled “Save the Situation Now.” They pointed out something interesting—Nigeria’s an oil-producing country. Surely that should count for something, right?

“As a nation endowed with enormous fossil resources, we deserve a certain level of protection against the gales from the Gulf,” the statement read.

Their demands:

• Reasonable wage awards for workers
• Crude oil sales to local refineries in naira
• Expanded national petroleum storage capacity
• Emergency subsidies shouldn’t be ruled out

Ajaero didn’t hold back: “Government cannot afford to stand and watch marketers inflict suffering on the citizenry in the name of deregulation.”

Fair point, honestly.

Marketers Weigh In

Chinedu Ukadike from IPMAN (Independent Petroleum Marketers Association) laid out the cold, hard truth: “Petrol prices will continue to go up if crude oil prices keep rising.”

He wants the government to supply crude to Dangote and other refineries at a stabilized rate—enough for 60 to 90 days of operations. “That will make the product stable. This issue of steady supply based on international market prices will definitely destabilize the economy.”

His warning? “Once crude oil prices keep climbing—and with this Iran, US, Israeli situation—petrol can jump to N2,000 anytime.”

Ukadike identified two major pressures: international crude prices and the dollar-naira exchange rate. “Nigeria isn’t doing anything to ensure the dollar rate comes down.”

Dangote Under Fire

The Dangote Refinery has been raising prices almost weekly. Since late August, they’ve bumped petrol prices four times—from N1,165 to N1,350 per litre. That’s N185 extra in just 22 days. Almost 16% increase.

The refinery increased its coastal price by nearly N114,000 for a full shipment. Insane numbers.

NLC’s Chris Onyeka didn’t mince words: “The danger of a monopolist is that he controls the market. He controls production and consumption. He controls supply.”

He accused Dangote of quick price increases when crude rises or the naira falls, but silence when conditions improve. “It tells you it’s all about profit margin.”

Onyeka put it bluntly: “You handed over a whole sector, a strategic sector of the Nigerian economy, to an individual.”

His solution? “Either break up Dangote’s monopoly or get all our public refineries working to put products into the market.”

A Quick History Lesson

Remember when petrol was N175? That was before President Bola Tinubu removed fuel subsidies on May 29, 2023. Those days feel like a distant memory now.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, gunning for president in 2027, has already promised to bring back subsidies if elected.

Where Does This Leave Us?

With Dangote now dominating domestic supply, further crude price increases will inevitably push depot and retail prices higher. A weaker naira would compound everything.

The government seems stuck between a rock and a hard place. Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele ruled out subsidies or price controls. But everyday Nigerians are drowning.

Labor says they have an obligation to speak out. And they’re doing exactly that.