₦airaland Forum

Lithiumite:
When the headwinds settle and prices start to drop,hope you will also remember to laugh.......if it was in the past we would have been grappling with fuel scarcity by now and even buy at a higher price than what is currently available......removing subsidy and full market deregulation was the best policy by this govt......PBAT till 31.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has increased its Premium Motor Spirit gantry price to N995 per litre, marking a sharp N221 rise within four days, amid volatility in global crude oil prices and shipping costs.

A senior official of the refinery confirmed the development to PUNCH Online on Friday, explaining that the latest price adjustment followed recent shifts in global oil market fundamentals.

“Yes, the price has been reviewed. The new gantry price is now N995 per litre,” the official said.

The new price represents an increase from N874 per litre, which itself was introduced earlier this week after the refinery raised its ex-depot price from N774 to N874 per litre.

With the latest revision, the refinery’s petrol price has climbed from N774 to N995 per litre within four days, representing about a N221 or 29 per cent increase over the period.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, also confirmed that the new gantry price had already been updated on the portal, signalling a shift in domestic downstream pricing benchmarks.

The latest price adjustment could trigger a fresh increase in retail pump prices across the country, with petrol likely to sell above N1,050 per litre in several locations depending on transportation costs and marketers’ margins.

It also followed a brief halt in petrol loading operations at the refinery, a development that had earlier sparked speculation among marketers that another price increase might be imminent.

Sources confirmed that truck-out operations for petrol were suspended at about 2:00 a.m. on Friday, leaving depot owners and bulk marketers uncertain about the refinery’s next pricing direction.

Market participants noted that similar pauses in petrol loading at the facility have historically preceded price adjustments.

Officials at the refinery have repeatedly defended its pricing decisions, insisting that petrol prices must reflect prevailing global crude oil prices, logistics costs and operational realities.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the refinery emphasised that it does not arbitrarily determine prices but adjusts them based on international market movements and the cost of crude oil used for refining.

The refinery said its pricing strategy reflects Nigeria’s transition to a fully deregulated downstream petroleum market, where petrol prices are now largely influenced by global crude oil prices, foreign exchange rates and supply dynamics.

It also promised to ensure that Nigeria is insulated from global supply shocks by prioritising supply to the domestic market amid the ongoing US-Iran war.

“The Dangote Refinery will ensure that Nigeria is insulated from these supply shocks by prioritising supply to the domestic market. This is one of the many benefits of domestic refining.

“The conflict has driven global crude and freight prices sharply higher, with benchmark Brent prices rising by about 26 per cent within a short period to above $84.0 per barrel,” the statement read.

The refinery said it has absorbed about 20 percent of the rising costs in order to help ease pressure on the domestic market.

Amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East, data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria has shown that a litre of imported petrol is about N64 cheaper than the one produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Data by MEMAN indicated that Dangote’s petrol gantry price was N874 per litre as of Monday, while the landing cost of imported petrol was N809.37 per litre, showing a difference of about N64 between the two sources.

MEMAN also reported that Dangote’s diesel price was N1,169.42, while imported diesel was N1,125.70 per litre.

Gunmen Kidnap 16 In Kubwa, Nigeria’s Capital, Including Vigilante’s Wife And Pastor’s Four Children

No fewer than 16 residents, including the wife of a local vigilante commander, her younger sister, and four children belonging to a pastor, have been abducted by gunmen during an attack on Peze community in the Byazhi area of Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Residents told SaharaReporters on Friday that the heavily armed gunmen invaded the community on Tuesday night, operating between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., moving from house to house while attempting to force their way into homes.

One resident said the attackers had earlier assembled in an uncompleted building opposite his house before launching the operation.

“They actually came to my house on Tuesday. One of my neighbours was watching them from the window. They had gathered in an uncompleted building opposite my house, so they didn’t know someone was observing them,” the resident said.

“They started banging on my door and moving around the house, shouting to see if anyone would react. The way they operate is that once you respond, they break the window to gain entry.”

According to the resident, the gunmen threatened to kill occupants who refused to open their doors. “They will tell you that if you don’t open the door, they will break in through the window and kill everyone inside,” he said.

The source explained that when the kidnappers could not gain entry into his house, they moved to other homes where they eventually abducted several residents.

“In total, they kidnapped 16 people,” he added.

Among the victims were four children belonging to a pastor in the community. The resident said the pastor was not at home when the attackers struck.

“When I later went to the pastor’s house, he told me he had stepped out briefly. Before he could return, people started informing him that kidnappers were operating in the area. When he rushed back home, he discovered that four of his children had been taken, leaving only the youngest child behind,” the source said.

The attack also affected the family of a vigilante commander who had been assisting the community in resisting kidnappers.

The source said the commander had just left his house around 10 p.m. when a neighbour called to alert him that armed men had invaded the area.

“He had just left his house when his neighbour called him and said the attackers had entered one of the houses nearby,” the resident said.

He explained that the commander immediately rushed to the location mentioned by the neighbour, unaware that the gunmen had already surrounded his own residence.

“He ran to the place they mentioned, not knowing they had already surrounded his house,” the source said.

According to the resident, the attackers blocked the vigilante commander on the road when he attempted to return home and opened fire.

The gunmen later stormed his house, where they abducted his wife and her younger sister, who had reportedly come to visit the family three days earlier.

Residents said the woman had given birth less than 40 days earlier, and the kidnappers left the newborn baby behind.

“They even ate the food she had been cooking before abducting her,” the source added.

The resident explained that security operatives later arrived at the scene, but the kidnappers had already escaped with their victims.

He added that the abductors subsequently contacted the families to demand ransom for the release of those taken.

Residents said the community has experienced multiple kidnapping incidents in recent weeks, including an earlier abduction on January 4 that prompted locals to organise vigilante patrols.

Community members are now calling on security agencies and authorities of the Federal Capital Territory to urgently deploy more security personnel to the area and take decisive steps to curb the growing wave of kidnappings.

As of the time of filing this report, attempts to reach SP Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, were unsuccessful.