The Nigeria Labour Congress has condemned the latest increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, describing it as “avoidable and unacceptable” and questioning why the Federal Government has not done more to ensure that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery gets adequate supplies of Nigerian crude.

The acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, stated this in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, while reacting to the latest increase in petrol prices.

Upah warned that the development would further compound the economic difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians, particularly workers and low-income households already struggling with high transportation, food and other living costs.

He said, “This adds to the increasing difficulties of the average Nigerian for whom life has been Hobbesian.”

The labour leader argued that the latest increase was difficult to justify, particularly against the backdrop of developments in the international oil market and Nigeria’s growing domestic refining capacity.

According to him, “The latest increase is avoidable and unacceptable in light of falling prices in the international market and our local capacity to sell more crude oil to Dangote. Why are we not doing so?”

The NLC’s reaction came against the backdrop of another increase in the price of petrol by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has triggered fresh concerns among motorists, transport operators and businesses already grappling with high operating costs.

The refinery raised its petrol gantry price by N65 per litre on Saturday, moving it from N1,200 to N1,265 per litre. The latest adjustment came only three days after the company increased the price from N1,185 to N1,200 per litre.

It was the third price adjustment by the refinery in eight days. On August 21, the company had raised its gantry price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre. In all, the three adjustments have added N100 to the price of petrol at the refinery’s gantry, representing an 8.6 per cent increase within just eight days.

The latest increase has since begun to reverberate across the downstream market, with petrol prices varying from one location to another as marketers factor in transportation, logistics and other distribution costs.

In some parts of Lagos and Ogun, petrol has been reported at about N1,310 per litre, while prices in some northern states and areas farther from the refinery have climbed to N1,350 and above. In some locations, the product is approaching N1,400 per litre.

The renewed price increase is coming at a particularly sensitive time for Nigerians, many of whom are still struggling with the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023.

The subsidy removal fundamentally altered the petroleum pricing regime, exposing consumers to movements in crude oil prices, foreign exchange rates and other market costs. Petrol prices, which were previously heavily regulated by the government, have since undergone several increases, with each adjustment feeding into the cost of transportation and other essential goods and services.

The latest development has also revived an old but unresolved question in Nigeria’s petroleum sector: why does a crude-producing country with a major new refinery still face persistent pressure on petrol prices?

The question has become more prominent with the emergence of the Dangote refinery, which has a capacity to process about 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily and was expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

But while the refinery has ramped up production, securing adequate quantities of Nigerian crude has remained a contentious issue.

Reuters reported recently that between 30 and 40 per cent of the crude processed by the Dangote refinery is imported, despite Nigeria being a major crude oil producer. The refinery has continued to push for greater access to domestic crude at competitive prices as it seeks to increase production. The crude supply challenge has also been reflected in official industry data.

Figures from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that oil producers offered 68.1 million barrels of crude to Dangote Refinery in the second quarter of 2026, against the refinery’s requirement of 63 million barrels. However, the refinery accepted 52.6 million barrels, meaning that the volume actually taken was below both the amount offered and the refinery’s stated requirement.

The figures highlight the complexity of the domestic crude supply debate, with the issue extending beyond the quantity of crude produced to questions around pricing, commercial terms, quality, transportation and delivery arrangements.

The Federal Government and petroleum regulators have consequently been under pressure to reform the framework governing the supply of crude to domestic refineries.

The debate is particularly important because the promise of domestic refining was not simply to change where petrol is produced, but to create a more resilient petroleum market in which Nigeria’s crude resources can be converted into refined products locally, reducing exposure to international supply shocks and pressure on foreign exchange.

For consumers, however, the benefits of that transition remain difficult to feel when petrol prices continue to rise.

The latest increase comes despite the fact that Nigeria’s crude oil production has also been improving. Official figures showed that the country’s crude production averaged 1.72 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 1.55 million barrels per day in the first quarter.

The paradox is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: Nigeria is producing more crude, has a refinery capable of processing 650,000 barrels daily, and has substantially reduced its dependence on imported petrol, yet consumers remain vulnerable to sharp increases in the price of the commodity.

For households, the consequences go far beyond the filling station. Petrol is a major component of Nigeria’s transportation and distribution system. Higher petrol prices raise the cost of commuting, increase the expense of transporting agricultural produce and manufactured goods, and push up the operating costs of businesses that depend on petrol-powered generators.

The resulting increases are often passed on to consumers through higher prices for food, transport and other essential goods. This has made every petrol price adjustment a matter of wider economic concern, particularly for workers whose incomes have struggled to keep pace with the cost of living.

It is against this background that the NLC has questioned the rationale for the latest increase and challenged the government to ensure that Nigeria’s crude resources are better deployed to support domestic refining.

Upah’s intervention also places the spotlight on the government’s responsibility to ensure that the benefits of increased crude production and expanded domestic refining capacity are not confined to refiners and other players in the petroleum industry but extend to ordinary Nigerians.

While market forces remain important in determining petrol prices under the post-subsidy regime, labour is insisting that the government can still influence some of the structural factors driving costs, particularly crude supply arrangements, refinery utilisation and domestic energy policy.

For the NLC, the latest increase is therefore not just another adjustment in the price of petrol. It is a fresh test of whether Nigeria’s petroleum reforms are delivering the economic relief and energy security that Nigerians were promised.

And as motorists and businesses brace for the impact of the latest increase, the labour movement is demanding an answer to a fundamental question: if Nigeria has the crude and the refining capacity, why are Nigerians still paying increasingly higher prices for petrol?