The Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has urged the Federal Government to fix the exchange rate at N1,000 per dollar in a bid to reduce the cost of petrol at Dangote Refinery to below N600 per litre.

CORAN’s spokesperson, Eche Idoko, made this appeal following the recent surge in petrol prices across the country, which now range between N950 and N1,100 per litre. The price hike comes after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced a new increase last week, with Dangote Refinery selling petrol at N898 per litre.

Idoko attributed the high prices to fluctuations in the naira’s value and the rising cost of crude oil on the global market.

He said that government intervention, specifically by pegging the exchange rate for locally refined products, could significantly lower petrol prices.

Idoko said, “For instance, you can say, you are using N1,000 as an exchange rate for this dollar deal, for the locally refined petroleum products. And like that, you will see a significant drop in the price.

“As it is right now, this pricing you see is a reflection of what the price will look like if there is no intervention at all, because of how the naira is doing and because of what crude is doing in the international market.

“But if the government intervenes by way of naira sales and pegging the dollar exchange rate for crude transactions at a reasonably low rate, you will see an improvement.

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“This is different from paying money as a subsidy. You are only just putting mechanisms in place to ensure the product is cheap. “

He further explained that the current prices reflect market realities without intervention, but with government support—through exchange rate management rather than subsidies—consumers would benefit from cheaper fuel.