Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have praised Dangote Petroleum Refinery's decision to cut its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), though many say the reduction has yet to ease the cost of transportation, food, and other daily essentials.

The refinery lowered its ex-depot petrol price from N1,330 per litre to between N1,265 and N1,300 per litre, reversing gains recorded over the previous two weeks when global crude oil prices were volatile.

The adjustment followed an earlier announcement by the refinery of plans to distribute petrol free of charge in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Delta, and the FCT to improve product availability.

Price changes at Abuja filling stations

Checks across Abuja on Monday confirmed the price movement was already filtering through to retail outlets.

MRS cut its pump price by N40 per litre, while independent marketers including AA Rano reduced their retail price by N30 per litre, bringing petrol to N1,300 per litre. At the depot level, Emedab, NIPCO, and Sigmund were selling petrol at between N1,217 and N1,222 per litre.

NAN reports that Civil servant Bare Oguntade described the cut as a welcome development but urged the federal government to ensure that transport operators and traders pass the savings along to ordinary consumers.

Business owner Anthony Okere echoed the sentiment, noting that many small businesses still depend heavily on petrol due to unreliable electricity supply, and that only a small number of transport operators have benefited from the government's Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) programme.

Calls for regulation and monitoring

Public affairs analyst Jide Ojo said sufficient time had passed for the benefits of lower fuel supply costs to reach Nigerians at the grassroots level.

He called on the federal government to engage petroleum marketers directly so that future price reductions are reflected quickly at filling stations and in transport fares.

Development expert Aliyu Ilias added that stronger regulatory oversight, combined with greater consumer participation, would push filling stations to comply with prevailing prices and encourage fair competition across the sector.

Meanwhile, Chinedu Ukadike, National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the brief suspension of fuel loading after the price review was a routine reconciliation process that takes place whenever depot prices change.

He said loading was expected to resume fully once marketers reconciled product volumes and previously issued tickets and stressed that tackling broader economic challenges remained key to delivering lasting relief for consumers.