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Independent marketers sell fuel at N300 per litre
The Federal Government’s decision to increase the pump price of premium motor spirit (petrol) by eight per cent has failed to ease supply challenges in the country, as independent marketers now sell the product N300 per litre.
Recall that the government had a few days ago, raise the pump price of the product for major marketers from N170 to N185 per litre
But four days into the new price regime, checks by News Agency around Abuja and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, showed that supply shortages persisted, with long queues noticed at petrol stations operated by NNPC Retail Limited and major oil marketers.
Same situation in Lagos
Investigations yesterday revealed that while the NNPC Retail outlets put their price pumps at N194 in Abuja and N185 in Lagos, filling stations operated by oil majors such as TotalEnergies, Conoil, AA Rano and Mobil, rates have adjusted their prices to N195 per litre, from N180 per litre, even as those stations operated by independent marketers sold at between N280 and N300 per litre.
Ex-depot price now N180 per litre -Rivers IPMAN
But speaking to Vanguard from Port Harcourt, the Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said major marketers in the eastern part of the country had been told the ex-depot price had been increased to N180 per litre.
Chief Ukadiake also disclosed that they had been informed that vessels bringing in petrol to Port Harcourt and Calabar ports would arrive before Friday this week to ease supply difficulties.
He disclosed that currently, independent marketers were purchasing their products from major marketers at N260 per litre, expressing optimism that the arrival of the vessels would end racketeering in the sector.”
Situations worsens in Ibadan, environs
Meanwhile, motorists and commercial cab operators in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have continued to groan as the scarcity of petrol bit harder.
News Agency gathered that the situation worsened at the weekend when some of the petrol stations selling the product shut their gates against prospective buyers, with independent marketers adjusting their prices to N300, against the previous pump price of between N195 and N270.
It was observed that some of the few stations that belonged to major marketers had also adjusted their pump price to N190, against the previous pump price of N180.
This correspondent, who went around some major roads in Ibadan in the early hours of yesterday, observed that scores of commuters plying major roads were stranded due to the ongoing fuel scarcity.
High price of diesel hindering petrol distribution – Oyo IPMAN
In an interview with The News Agency at the IPMAN Headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the chairman of the association, Alhaji Bukola Mutiu, linked the ongoing fuel scarcity across the state to the high cost of diesel as well as the inability of Oyo State-based petroleum marketers to load fuel directly from Ibadan depot.
He, however, noted that deregulation remains the answer to all challenges confronting the downstream sector and also allows all the players to key into the sector and import freely.
“Total deregulation remains the best solution to ending fuel scarcity. The deregulation of the downstream sector remains the only potent and lasting solution to scarcity. The cost implication of the policy will make the price of petrol too expensive for Nigerians, as deregulation will shift the burden from the government to users of the product”.
Subsidy hinders competition
Speaking on subsidy, Mutiu condemned payment of subsidy on petrol, adding that it was no longer sustainable.
“Subsidy regime does not allow competition, while monopoly is the language of petrol business as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is the sole importer, manager and distributor of petrol.”
Reacting to the present scarcity, the National Association of Energy Correspondents, NAEC, in a statement yesterday, expressed concerns about the lingering fuel scarcity and called on all relevant government agencies in the downstream sector to arrest the prevailing chaos in the market.
It said the body of energy editors in Nigeria lamented that the development had brought untold hardship to Nigerians and man-hour loss which ought to have been put into productive ventures but wasted at filling stations.
It stated: “While long queues persisted at stations now selling at N185 per litre in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, other marketers have started to take advantage of the situation, causing serious hardship to Nigerians and dislocation to the market through hoarding and profiteering. Black marketers have not only returned, but they have also been smiling to the banks at the detriment of helpless and hapless Nigerians.”
THE Federal Government’s decision to increase the pump price of premium motor spirit (petrol) by eight per cent has failed to ease supply challenges in the country, as independent marketers now sell the product N300 per litre.
Recall that the government had a few days ago, raise the pump price of the product for major marketers from N170 to N185 per litre
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But four days into the new price regime, checks by News Agency around Abuja and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, showed that supply shortages persisted, with long queues noticed at petrol stations operated by NNPC Retail Limited and major oil marketers.
Same situation in Lagos
Investigations yesterday revealed that while the NNPC Retail outlets put their price pumps at N194 in Abuja and N185 in Lagos, filling stations operated by oil majors such as TotalEnergies, Conoil, AA Rano and Mobil, rates have adjusted their prices to N195 per litre, from N180 per litre, even as those stations operated by independent marketers sold at between N280 and N300 per litre.
Ex-depot price now N180 per litre -Rivers IPMAN
But speaking to Vanguard from Port Harcourt, the Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said major marketers in the eastern part of the country had been told the ex-depot price had been increased to N180 per litre.
Chief Ukadiake also disclosed that they had been informed that vessels bringing in petrol to Port Harcourt and Calabar ports would arrive before Friday this week to ease supply difficulties.
He disclosed that currently, independent marketers were purchasing their products from major marketers at N260 per litre, expressing optimism that the arrival of the vessels would end racketeering in the sector.”
Situations worsens in Ibadan, environs
Meanwhile, motorists and commercial cab operators in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have continued to groan as the scarcity of petrol bit harder.
The News Agency gathered that the situation worsened at the weekend when some of the petrol stations selling the product shut their gates against prospective buyers, with independent marketers adjusting their prices to N300, against the previous pump price of between N195 and N270.
It was observed that some of the few stations that belonged to major marketers had also adjusted their pump price to N190, against the previous pump price of N180.
This correspondent, who went around some major roads in Ibadan in the early hours of yesterday, observed that scores of commuters plying major roads were stranded due to the ongoing fuel scarcity.
High price of diesel hindering petrol distribution – Oyo IPMAN
In an interview with Vanguard at the IPMAN Headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the chairman of the association, Alhaji Bukola Mutiu, linked the ongoing fuel scarcity across the state to the high cost of diesel as well as the inability of Oyo State-based petroleum marketers to load fuel directly from Ibadan depot.
He, however, noted that deregulation remains the answer to all challenges confronting the downstream sector and also allows all the players to key into the sector and import freely.
“Total deregulation remains the best solution to ending fuel scarcity. The deregulation of the downstream sector remains the only potent and lasting solution to scarcity. The cost implication of the policy will make the price of petrol too expensive for Nigerians, as deregulation will shift the burden from the government to users of the product”.
Subsidy hinders competition
Speaking on subsidy, Mutiu condemned payment of subsidy on petrol, adding that it was no longer sustainable.
“Subsidy regime does not allow competition, while monopoly is the language of petrol business as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is the sole importer, manager and distributor of petrol.”
Reacting to the present scarcity, the National Association of Energy Correspondents, NAEC, in a statement yesterday, expressed concerns about the lingering fuel scarcity and called on all relevant government agencies in the downstream sector to arrest the prevailing chaos in the market.
It said the body of energy editors in Nigeria lamented that the development had brought untold hardship to Nigerians and man-hour loss which ought to have been put into productive ventures but wasted at filling stations.
It stated: “While long queues persisted at stations now selling at N185 per litre in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, other marketers have started to take advantage of the situation, causing serious hardship to Nigerians and dislocation to the market through hoarding and profiteering. Black marketers have not only returned, but they have also been smiling to the banks at the detriment of helpless and hapless Nigerians.”
Women from diverse backgrounds across Nigeria and beyond gathered at the Art and Culture Auditorium, Abuja, for the inauguration and convention of the Noble Ladies Association. The event, led by the association’s Founder and “visionary and polished Queen Mother,” Mrs. Margaret Chigozie Mkpuma, was a colourful display of feminine elegance, empowerment, and ambition.
The highly anticipated gathering, attended by over 700 members and counting, reflected the association’s mission to help women realise their potential while shifting mindsets away from dependency and over-glamorization of the ‘white collar job.’ According to the group, progress can be better achieved through innovation and creativity. “When a woman is able to earn and blossom on her own she has no reason to look at herself as a second fiddle,” the association stated.
One of the association’s standout initiatives is its women-only investment platform, which currently offers a minimum entry of ₦100,000 with a return of ₦130,000 over 30 days—an interest rate of 30 percent. Some members invest as much as ₦1 million, enjoying the same return rate. Mrs. Mkpuma explained that the scheme focuses on women because “women bear the greater brunt of poverty” and the platform seeks “to offer equity in the absence of economic equality.”
Education is also central to the Noble Ladies’ mission, regardless of age. Their mantra, “start again from where you stopped,” encourages women to return to school or upgrade their skills at any stage in life. The association believes that financial stability is vital in protecting women from cultural practices that dispossess widows of their late husbands’ assets, while also enabling them to raise morally and socially grounded families.
Founded on the vision of enhancing women’s skills and achieving financial stability, the association rests on a value system that discourages pity and promotes purpose. “You have a purpose and you build on that purpose to achieve great potentials and emancipation,” Mrs. Mkpuma said.
A criminologist by training and entrepreneur by practice, she cautions against idleness while waiting for formal employment. “There are billions in the informal and non-formal sectors waiting to be made,” she said, rejecting the “new normal of begging” and urging people to “be more introspective to find their purpose in life and hold on to it.”
Mrs. Mkpuma’s management style keeps members actively engaged, focusing on vocational skills and training to prepare them for competitive markets. She is exploring “innovative integration of uncommon technologies” and is already in talks with international franchises to invest in Nigeria, with Noble Ladies as first beneficiaries.
The association’s core values include mutual respect, innovation, forward-thinking, equal opportunity, and financial emancipation. With plans underway to establish a secretariat in the heart of Abuja, the group aims to expand its impact.
The event drew high-profile guests, including former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, and a host of VIPs, marking a significant milestone in the association’s drive for women’s empowerment.
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has stepped in to resolve the dispute between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the Abuja Technology Village (ATV), a licensed Free Trade Zone, over the potential revocation of the zone’s land title.
Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, the Managing Director of NEPZA, urged ATV operators and investors to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the FCT administration immediately to facilitate a roundtable negotiation.
Dr. Ogunyemi delivered the charge during a courtesy visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, on Thursday in Abuja.
You will recall that the ATV operators responded to the revocation notice issued by the FCT administration with a lawsuit.
Dr. Ogunyemi stated that the continued support for the growth of the Free Trade Zones Scheme would benefit the nation’s economy and the FCT’s development, emphasizing that the FCT administration recognized the scheme’s potential to accelerate industrialisation.
Dr. Ogunyemi, also the Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, expressed his delight at the steps taken by the FCT minister to expand the economic frontier of the FCT through the proposed Abuja City Walk (ACW) project.
Dr. Ogunyemi further explained that the Authority was preparing to assess all the 63 licensed Free Trade Zones across the country with the view to vetting their functionality and contributions to the nation’s Foreign Direct Investment and export drives.
“I have come to discuss with His Excellency, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory on the importance of supporting the ATV to succeed while also promoting the development of the Abuja City Walk project. We must work together to achieve this for the good of our nation,” he said.
On his part, the FCT Minister reiterated his unflinching determination to work towards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by bringing FDI to the FCT.
“We must fulfil Mr. President’s promises regarding industrialization, trade, and investment. In this context, the FCT will collaborate with NEPZA to review the future of ATV, a zone that was sponsored and supported by the FCT administration,” Wike said.
Barrister Wike also said that efforts were underway to fast-track the industrialisation process of the territory with the construction of the Abuja City Walk.
The minister further said the Abuja City Walk project was planned to cover over 200 hectares in the Abuja Technology Village corridor along Airport Road.
According to him, the business ecosystem aimed to create a lively, mixed-use urban center with residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, medical, and institutional facilities.
He added that the ACW would turn out to be a high-definition and world-class project that would give this administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda true meaning in the North-Central Region of the country.
Barrister Wike also indicated his continued pursuit of land and property owners who failed to fulfil their obligations to the FCT in his determination to develop the territory.
Vehicular movement along the Yelwata axis of the Benue–Nasarawa highway was brought to a standstill on Wednesday as Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, staged a protest, demanding immediate return to their ancestral homes.
The protesters, believed to be victims of persistent attacks by suspected herdsmen, blocked both lanes of the busy highway for several hours, chanting “We want to go back home”.
The protest caused disruption, leaving hundreds of motorists and passengers stranded.
Eyewitnesses said the displaced persons, many of whom have spent years in overcrowded IDP camps, are expressing deep frustration over the government’s delay in restoring security to their communities.
“We have suffered enough. We want to return to our homes and farms,” one of the protesters told reporters at the scene.
Security personnel were reportedly deployed to monitor the situation and prevent any escalation, though tensions remained high as of press time.
Efforts to reach the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and other relevant authorities for comment were unsuccessful.
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