Independent petroleum marketers say pump prices could fall below N800 per litre if the government restores their right to import fuel directly, as the Federal Government pushes the downstream sector to pass on falling global crude prices to consumers.
The projection came from Abubakar Maigandi, the national president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, after a closed-door meeting in Abuja between the government, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, and major industry players including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, TotalEnergies and Eterna Plc.
Maigandi said marketers had already cut prices by N125 per litre nationwide and could go lower depending on supply terms from Dangote and private depots.
The minister of state for petroleum resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, said the meeting was called because pump prices have not tracked the recent drop in international crude, which spiked above $118 a barrel in April amid Middle East tensions before easing to around $71.
Petrol peaked near N1,596 per litre in May and now sells around N1,296, a gap Lokpobiri called “not cost-reflective.”
He warned marketers against using profits from earlier, costlier fuel stock to justify holding prices high once cheaper supply comes in, and urged faster action to operationalize Nigeria’s National Strategic Stock.
No firm timeline was given for when consumers might see lower prices, though officials said discussions with marketers are ongoing.
