Rising fuel prices: Wallets shrink as Nigerians feel impact

…May trigger declining cost of living crisis

…Profiteering soars

Last year, Nigerians celebrated two years of festive season without fuel scarcity.

Apart from the guaranteed supplies, the feat also came with a relative stability in fuel prices, courtesy of the Dangote Refinery.

But while product scarcity may not resurface any time soon, pump price increment seems a reality, especially since the beginning of March.

From N739 to N840, pump price has been increasing to N930 and to N1,200 per litre, amid fear of further increment in line with crude oil price that is surging in the international market due to the Israel-Iran conflict.

The situation is bringing back the sad realities of the early days of fuel subsidy removal as Nigerians once again, face another blow and pressure on their already stretched budgets.

Many are earnestly praying for respite as the price hike, linked to the rising global crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, has sent ripple effects across households, businesses, and markets, while turning everyday travel and spending into a daily struggle.

In Lagos, Adebayo Olaolu, a bus driver, begins his day at 6am, weaving through crowded streets, but sad as the expensive fuel declines his daily target, amid mounting delivery order by the bus owner.

“Fuel is very expensive now and if I don’t raise fares, I can’t meet my daily target and the bus owner will quickly handover to one of the many standby drivers out there,” he explained, wiping afternoon sweat from his brow.

While most commuters think that drivers make all the money, Olaolu differed, insisting that every extra naira spent on petrol forces him to make tough choices, from reducing meals to cutting corners wherever possible, and big confrontations with touts on increased fees.

There are similar stories across the country. Mercy Jabiru, a supermarket cashier, has recalculated her monthly transportation budget since the recent hike in fuel pump price. “I used to spend about N10,000 commuting weekly.

Now, it is almost N15,000,” she said. To cope, she shares rides, leaves home earlier, and sometimes skips meals. “It is stressful, but there is no other choice,” she added with a fatigued voice.

In Port Harcourt, Chinedu Princewill, a trader, depends on motorcycles and small vans to deliver goods. But he cannot easily pass the extra costs to the buyers, instead he bears the burden for now, just to retain his customers until the situation improves or gets worse, and leaving him with unavoidable price adjustments.

“Sometimes it means fewer meals or delayed payment of children’s school fees. It is a daily struggle,” he said.

For traders and small business owners operating on tight margins, the fuel hike threatens both income and livelihood.

Markets like Balogun and Oke-Arin in Lagos; Mile 3, and Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Wuse in Abuja, Ariaria in Aba, Modern Market in Makurdi, all reflect the strain.

“I get my supplies from a wholesaler who deals with an importer. With the fuel price hike, he will add the cost of transporting the goods from Lagos to Aba and that will increase prices for me and my customers too,” Chike Enuma, a sanitary ware dealer, lamented.

According to him, business is declining already as many customers call to confirm prices.

“I tell them the current prices and most stay away, hoping that it will come down later,” he noted.

For Folasade Jeyiola, a bakery product dealer, the hike will impact prices of bakery products, especially flour, and ultimately bread.

“For some time now, we have experienced stability is the price of bread, some bakeries even reduced the prices of their loaves,” she said.

“But this recent regime of fuel pump price hike is not going to help matters. As cost of transportation rises, wholesalers will pass it on to their dealers and dealers to bakeries and to the consumers at the end of the day”.

Also, grocery stores will not hesitate to adjust prices of items on their shelves if the hike persist.

Delivery operators, food vendors, and service providers now choose between raising prices, which could drive customers away or absorbing costs, which reduces profits. The increase is not just a personal burden but a commercial one, slowing the flow of goods and services across the economy.

For Iya Edun, a food vendor at Obalende, Lagos, whatever extra she pays on transportation would be passed on to her customers and that means small and expensive portions of food.

“We sell as we buy, we are not the ones that increased fuel price,” she enthused.

For the likes of Iya Edun, the psychological toll is also evident as anxiety over daily expenses, constant budget juggling, and improvisation have become the norm.

An obvious reality for many, especially low-income salary earners in urban areas across Nigeria is that the rising fuel pump price leaves little room for savings and emergencies.

“House rent is increasing every year, children’s school fees double every session, hospital bills are outrageous, yet salaries are not increasing.

How do you save then? The situation is getting out of hand,” Jude Preiye, a father of three and salary earner, lamented.

He argued that the saying that people should hang their bags where the hands can reach does not apply again as poor Nigerians do not have anywhere close to hang their bags.

Also displeased that he can hardly save with the current hike, Ganiyu Amore, a student and taxi driver in Ibadan, lamented, “Before, I could save a little at the end of the month. Now, I just hope

I can cover fuel and part of my school fees”.

His worry is that one cannot increase fares unnecessarily in Ibadan, as many residents are ready to trek long distances to work or home.

In Abuja, some workers hang around town and only return to their homes in the outskirts of the city on weekends, just to survive.

There have been cases of many who sleep in their cars, parked at fuel stations, church premises and other places, during weekdays, and return to get change of clothes during weekends.

Realities like these highlight a broader pattern where many ordinary Nigerians are forced into survival mode, balancing work, family, and spending only on essentials.

But while many are forced into survival mode, profiteering is soaring as some are taking advantage of the situation to rip-off others.

Big Abas, a roadside motor mechanic, confessed selling fuel at N1,700 per litre at the peak of the price hike this month.

He argued that some racketeers sold at N2000 and that many fuel stations sold at high prices too even with bad pumps.

“I think, we are all guilty of profiteering. From the banks during the cash withdrawal crisis, transport companies during festive season, fuel stations during scarcity and our politicians during elections,” Emeka Eboh, a maritime lawyer, noted.

Eboh enjoined Nigerians to change as a people, as the dog-eat-dog attitude of most people, has made all vulnerable to corruption and wickedness.

“When Dangote Refinery reduced price to N739 per litre, transporters still maintained high fare, now prices have gone up and they are doubling fares.

We hate good things, we have to change for things to work. It is not all about profiteering”.

In the same vein, Ademola Salako, a retired civil servant, thinks that the hardship people are facing today is not necessarily due to the economic reforms of the present administration, but excessive profiteering and greed.

“In Lagos, fares increase whenever rain threatens, you buy something at N1 and wants to make N1million gain, you increase rent from N600,000 to N1.5 million, and you blame the government.

Just few days of the fuel price hike, price of everything has gone up. When the price comes down, nobody will reduce theirs.

“We are wicked to ourselves. Just show little love, things will change,” Pa Salako urged.

As Nigerians hope for respite and further reduction in price soon, the reality is that each litre of fuel now carries the weight of survival for many, while any increment will shrink wallets more, amid longer commutes, and daily trade-offs that millions of Nigerians must navigate.