The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene as petrol prices cross ₦1,430 per litre nationwide, warning that the cost-of-living crisis facing ordinary Nigerians has reached a breaking point.
The latest surge follows a jump in global crude prices, now above $104 a barrel, alongside fresh price adjustments at the Dangote Refinery and local depots, where ex-depot petrol now sells between ₦1,265 and ₦1,340 per litre. In Abuja, motorists are paying as much as ₦1,450 a litre at NNPCL and independent filling stations.
NLC President Joe Ajaero says the pump price hike has set off a chain reaction, pushing up transport fares, rent, school fees, and food prices across the board.
The NLC’s demands to government include:
Immediate relief measures — substantial palliatives to cushion workers and everyday citizens from the pressure of rising inflation
Crude supply guarantees for local refineries — so domestic production isn’t left exposed to the swings of the international market
Reinvestment of windfall earnings — with crude prices running $35 to $40 above budget benchmarks, Ajaero wants that surplus channelled into public relief rather than left to fuel marketers’ pricing decisions
Ajaero didn’t hold back on what he called the absurdity of local refineries still relying on imported crude, describing it as a drag on efforts to build real domestic capacity. He also warned that with the 2027 general elections drawing closer, the government can’t keep hiding behind the language of market deregulation while marketers pile more hardship onto Nigerians.
