By MacDonald Dzirutwe and Camillus Eboh
ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC Ltd on Wednesday hiked petrol prices to as high as 557 naira ($1.21) per litre from 189 naira, days after new President Bola Tinubu said fuel subsidies would be scrapped.
The increase signals an end to the fuel subsidy regime that the NNPC says costs it $867 million every month.
Nigerians will have to brace for higher transport fares while businesses which rely on petrol generators because the grid electricity supply is meagre, face higher costs.
NNPC said in a statement that petrol prices were being adjusted “in line with the current market realities.”
“It is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics,” said NNPC.
Facing economic hardships, many Nigerians consider cheap petrol a right and the last time a government tried to remove the subsidy in 2012, it caused nationwide protests. Tinubu, then an opposition leader, opposed the removal of the subsidy.
Motorists had rushed to fill their tanks ahead of the expected end of the subsidy that had been keeping prices low.
On Tuesday, the NNPC’s chief executive said the corporation was owed $6.1 billion in fuel subsidy payments by the federal government and that Nigeria could no longer afford to pay for the subsidies.
Fuel outlets owned by NNPC were selling petrol for 448 naira a litre in some parts of Lagos, up from 185, while in Abuja it was being sold for 537 naira.
Rating agency Moody said Tinubu’s pledge to remove the subsidy and unify Nigeria’s multiple exchange rates was “credit positive”. But it warned of risks in the initial period, including higher inflation, weaker economic activity and more social discontent.
($1 = 460.0000 naira)
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Nick Zieminski)
