Pump prices for premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, have surged to N955 per litre in parts of Nigeria following a hike in the ex-depot price by the Dangote Refinery.
MRS Oil, a major distributor of Dangote’s refined products, confirmed the increase in a post on its official X handle on Saturday.
According to MRS, the new price adjustment, effective June 21, 2025, sees customers in the South-East and North-East now paying N955 per litre. In the North-West and North-Central zones, the product will sell for N945, while residents of Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti States will buy it at N935 per litre. In Lagos, the pump price has jumped to N925 from N885 as of Friday morning.
The sharp rise follows Dangote Refinery’s decision to raise its ex-depot price — the rate at which petrol is sold to retailers — from N825 to N880 on Friday. This development is expected to trigger similar price increases from other Dangote distributors, including Heyden and AP.
The price hike comes amid concerns over pricing practices by marketers. Reacting to the situation on Monday, President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, accused marketers of exploiting Nigerians with artificially inflated petrol prices.
“Oil marketers are profiting excessively at the expense of ordinary Nigerians,” Osifo said. “With global crude oil prices falling, there is no justification for the stagnant or rising pump price of PMS. The retail price should ideally be between N700 and N750 per litre.”
The price increase is likely to worsen the burden on Nigerians already grappling with high inflation and cost-of-living pressures, particularly in transportation and logistics.
