With the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) hitting N1,000 per litre in some parts of Lagos and Ogun states, attention has turned towards Dangote Refinery, which is expected to assuage the situation.
 
The refinery, once fully operational, is expected to significantly boost the domestic production of PMS and reduce the nation’s reliance on imported petrol. It is anticipated to start PMS production this month.
 
The unprecedented surge has further strained Nigerians, leading to increased transportation costs and inflationary pressures on goods and services. Stakeholders, consumers and industry experts are calling for expedited efforts to bring the refinery on stream, hoping it will stabilise the market and provide much-needed relief to consumers, as most of the filling stations in parts of Lagos, such as Egbe, Ikotun and environs sell between N930 and N980 per litre.
 
A female tricycle operator in Lagos, Arinola Ajayi, told The Guardian that “scarcity has become a norm” affecting her daily income, as she spent more on fuel.   She lamented that passengers complain about the hike in transport fares, which doubled due to the scarcity.
 
“We hope that when the Dangote Refinery starts producing, this issue of scarcity will end,” she said. Energy expert, Prof Dayo Ayoade, told The Guardian that N1,000 per litre of petrol is not surprising in the absence of domestic production.
 
Emphasising that fuel prices are high all over the world, he stressed that Nigerians need PMS; hence, the need for financial assistance from the Federal Government to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which is in financial distress.
 
“The Port Harcourt refinery was supposed to start producing on September 1, but we haven’t seen the product yet. Where is the PMS? Are they actually producing? Dangote Refinery is a private business and a brand-new refinery, so it’s going to take time for them to get it right,” he said.

Calling for more transparency and accountability in the sector, he expressed surprise that NNPCL, which declared profit a few days ago, came back to still reveal huge debts to marketers.
 
According to Reuters, NNPCL is set to become the initial exclusive buyer of PMS from Dangote Refinery, which is ready to sell petrol in the coming weeks. The report stressed that if the refinery exclusively supplies NNPCL, it would significantly lower importation and logistics costs, allowing local marketers to purchase petrol from NNPCL at a reduced price.