Fuel marketers have resumed loading petrol and diesel from private depots after an almost one-week disruption caused by recent price adjustments in the downstream petroleum sector.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, said depot owners temporarily halted loading operations to adjust prices and collect top-up payments from marketers who had paid before the latest increase. He dismissed fears of an impending fuel scarcity, saying loading activities have now resumed.
Ukadike explained that some filling stations temporarily suspended sales because marketers were being cautious amid continued volatility in fuel prices, worsened by tensions in the Middle East.
He also said he could not confirm whether marketers loading directly from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s gantry had begun paying in dollars under the refinery’s new pricing policy, although offshore and coastal transactions are expected to be dollar-denominated.
Meanwhile, ex-depot petrol prices increased across major Lagos depots, with several operators, including African Terminal, Matrix, NIPCO, Pinnacle and Sahara, raising prices from ₦1,250 to ₦1,275 per litre.
Price movements were mixed in other locations. Some depots in Port Harcourt and Calabar maintained or reduced prices slightly, while others in Warri recorded marginal increases. Diesel prices also rose at several depots, with Lagos prices climbing to about ₦1,600 per litre.
The latest adjustments underscore continued volatility in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market following the Dangote refinery’s shift to dollar-denominated petrol sales, a development that continues to influence depot prices and pump costs nationwide.
