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Petrol prices across southeastern Nigeria climbed sharply this week after Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised its depot price by roughly N110 per litre, pushing pump prices in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states to between N950 and N1,000 — up from N840 to N850 just weeks ago.
Chinedu Anyaso, chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria for the Enugu zone, which covers all three states, said the increase was a direct pass-through from the refinery and not a decision by marketers. “The hike is not artificial, it is not arbitrary, it is a direct reflection of the reality we are facing,” he said Wednesday.
Dangote Refinery, which has emerged as a major domestic supplier since coming on stream, adjusted its ex-depot price from N774 to N884 per litre, according to independent marketer Emeka Ugwuagbo. Major fuel retailers nationally moved first, repricing between N930 and N970 per litre on Tuesday. By Wednesday, that adjustment had rippled through filling stations across the region.
In Abakaliki, outlets including NNPC Retail and Rainoil moved prices from N870 to N970 per litre. In Enugu city, stations realigned their pumps to the new range of N950 to N980, up from between N780 and N820 previously.
In more remote areas — Obollo Afor, Orba and Enugu Ezike in Udenu and Igboeze North local government areas — prices reached N1,000 per litre, with independent marketers setting their own rates depending on logistics costs.
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Anyaso warned the situation could deteriorate further. He said the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East, particularly the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, risked disrupting global crude supply chains and pushing international prices higher. “Prices of petroleum products will definitely go higher if the war in the Gulf continues because it will have a negative impact on production and the price of crude,” he said.
In Awka, the Anambra state capital, queues have begun forming at some filling stations — an early indicator of supply pressure.
The lines have added to the anxiety of motorists, traders and civil servants who have watched fuel prices climb repeatedly over the past year.
John Okoh, a food trader, called on the government to intervene. Civil servant Eunice Nwankwo said the frequency of price increases had become a source of sustained hardship. Motorist Peter Onu described the latest jump as shocking, though he stopped short of directing his frustration at any specific authority.
On the transport side, reactions have been cautious. Most commercial drivers said they were holding off on fare increases while they assessed how long the new price level would hold.
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Commercial driver Chinedu Odo said hikes were inevitable over time.
Tricycle operator Innocent Eze said many of his colleagues had not yet registered the change, with some still unaware prices had moved.
The latest increase is the second significant adjustment in a matter of weeks and follows the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023, which ended decades of state-controlled pricing and exposed Nigerian consumers directly to movements in both global crude markets and domestic refinery economics.
