BREAKING: NNPC increases pump price to 855 amidst fuel scarcity

The administration of President Bola Tinubu seems to have increased petrol prices from N650 to N855 per litre, based on pump price displays at NNPC stations on Tuesday.

This development comes amid ongoing fuel scarcity and crisis, with prices on fuel dispensers at government-owned NNPC stations in Lagos and Abuja reflecting N855 per litre. This increase aligns with concerns over the country’s current foreign exchange challenges and rising fuel landing costs.

Other filling stations also adjusted their prices, with some showing N897 per litre by Tuesday morning.

In response to the situation, Femi Soneye, the spokesperson for NNPC, stated, “I’m not aware. But I’ll find out,” when questioned by News360 Nigeria.

Fuel prices have dwindled between N580 per litre to N700 per litre since Mr Tinubu became president and announced the removal of fuel subsidies in 2023.

But in recent weeks, the nation has suffered an acute fuel scarcity that led the few stations with fuel to sell at exorbitant prices above N900 per litre while black market prices exceeded N1,000.

On Thursday, the Tinubu government issued a statement denying reports that pegged the official fuel increase to N1,000.

“The federal government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price,” said the statement by Nnemaka Okafor, special adviser, media and communication, to the Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri.