By Emmanuel Thomas l Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
LAGOS — In a sharp escalation of economic pressures on Nigerian households and businesses, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, has hit a staggering ₦1,900 per litre across major private depots in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The sudden surge comes barely 24 hours after the Federal Government announced a proposed ₦1,350 per litre price cap and launched a 30-day discounted petrol scheme through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Retail) to ease rising living costs.
Investigation reveals that wholesale depot prices for PMS leapt sharply over the weekend, driven by regional market supply imbalances, international Brent crude prices climbing above $104 per barrel, and persistent foreign exchange fluctuations.
Depot Rates Diverge Across Key Coastal Terminals
Market monitoring data across the country’s four primary coastal supply hubs—Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, and Calabar—highlighted stark disparities in wholesale prices.
In Port Harcourt, NIPCO depot led the price increases, raising its wholesale PMS rate by ₦170 to hit ₦1,900 per litre. Six other major private depot operators in the Port Harcourt supply corridor followed suit, adjusting their ex-depot prices upwards by ₦150 to reach the same ₦1,900 mark.
Concurrently, depot owners in Warri, Delta State, adjusted their rates.
Depots including Keonamex, Matrix, Nepal, and Parker hiked prices to ₦1,360 per litre from previous rates of ₦1,315, while Optima revised its price from ₦1,330 to ₦1,360 per litre. In Calabar, Cross River State, Matrix Depot adjusted its listing to ₦1,370 per litre from ₦1,315.
Meanwhile, Lagos depots listed petrol between ₦1,350 and ₦1,360 per litre. At the retail end in Lagos, NNPC outlets retailed PMS at ₦1,360 per litre, MRS posted ₦1,338 per litre, while independent retail stations sold between ₦1,368 and ₦1,400 per litre.
The price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), or diesel, also mounted further pressure on the industrial sector as Rain Oil and Matrix depots in Warri raised wholesale diesel prices by ₦180 to hit ₦1,900 per litre.
Downstream Operators Defend Price Adjustments
Addressing the sudden spike at wholesale terminals, downstream stakeholders attributed the variance to international crude market movements and logistics costs involved in coastal vessel chartering and regional product distribution.
An executive with an independent marketing firm, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that market dynamics remain tied to global energy benchmarks.
”Despite ongoing domestic interventions and local refining capacity, Nigeria’s downstream market continues to react directly to international oil market fluctuations and high vessel charter rates. When landing costs rise at private terminals due to international crude movements, depot operators have little choice but to adjust wholesale prices to remain solvent,” the official noted.
Commuters, Businesses Face Fresh Cost Pressures
The jump to ₦1,900 per litre at depot level threatens to trigger a cascading wave of price hikes at retail filling stations outside major metro centers, particularly across the South-South and South-East regions, where transporters rely heavily on Port Harcourt depots for product supplies.
Commercial transport operators in Port Harcourt and neighboring states have already signaled imminent transport fare increases, warning that the high depot prices make current fare structures unsustainable.
”We buy fuel at the pump based on what depot owners sell to filling stations,” said Chidi Nwachukwu, a commercial bus driver operating along the Port Harcourt–Aba route. “If filling stations buy petrol at ₦1,900 at the depot, they will sell it to us at over ₦2,000 per litre at the pump. We have no choice but to adjust fares, even though passengers are already struggling.”
Manufacturers and small-scale business owners relying on diesel and petrol generators for power generation expressed severe concern over the combined rise in fuel and diesel prices. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has repeatedly warned that rising operational costs directly erode profit margins and force final prices of essential fast-moving consumer goods higher for everyday citizens.
FG, NNPC Under Pressure to Enforce Pricing Regulations
The sharp divergence between official government pricing targets and private depot realities undermines the Federal Government’s recently introduced 30-day discount scheme and proposed ₦1,350 per litre price cap.
Civil society groups and opposition figures have urged regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), to step up monitoring and curb arbitrary markup practices by private depot owners.
As commuters and business operators brace for the inflationary ripple effects, all eyes remain on energy regulators and market operators to see whether wholesale depot prices will stabilize or force pump prices across the nation into uncharted territory.