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Fuel Scarcity: Marketers Finally Hike Petrol Price To N170-N190/litre

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Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol will now be sold between N170/litre and N190/litre in filling stations across the country, following what is believed to be a subtle agreement between Federal Government officials and oil marketers.

Findings on Sunday revealed that the development was the outcome of a meeting between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers on Thursday.

Sources privy to the meeting said it was agreed that the pump price of petrol should be increased by N10 per litre.

A market survey on Sunday revealed that price display boards at some petrol stations in Lagos reflected new prices starting between N170 per litre and N175 per litre.

However, some other filling stations sold above these prices, with some selling as high as N185/litre.

Oil marketers denied holding a meeting with the NMDPRA on the subject matter but sources close to the matter confirmed to our correspondent that the meeting actually held.

The officials said the NMDPRA agreed marketers could increase their pump price to N165-N175/litre for filling stations inside towns, and a maximum of N190/litre for those on the outskirts.

“The meeting was held and everybody was told to keep mum. A band of N165-N175/litre was approved for the filling stations inside towns, while N189 was approved for those outside towns,” our source said.

The NMDPRA could not verify this claim as of press time on Sunday.

The spokesman for the NMDPRA, Kimchi Apollo, did not respond to several calls made to his telephone line.

However, marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria confirmed the fuel pump price hike to our correspondent.

The National Operations Controller, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, explained the reasons behind the fuel pump price hike.

Osatuyi, who also denied that a meeting held between oil marketers and the Federal Government on Thursday, however, disclosed that there was a fresh increase, describing it as a “market fundamentally determined price.”

“Petrol now sells between N175-N180 per litre depending on the area, ‘’ he said.

“Petrol is now available and as you can see, the queues in Lagos and Abuja have disappeared. We are businessmen and it’s impossible for us to run at a loss. Marketers are allowed to sell at a minimum price of N170 and a maximum of N180. There’s something we call market fundamentals; this is what came into play here. This is because it is impossible to bring the product into your station at N170 and sell at N165,” he added.

When asked if there was a circular from the NMDPRA to the effect, he responded “no”, adding, “there was no meeting but what you saw was simply an increase due to market forces.”

Explaining further, he said the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company’s price template, which has the current official price of N165/litre, was arrived at about 12 ago.

“The template is 12 years old when the dollar was still N175 and diesel was sold at N200/litre. Now, diesel is around N850. Even major oil marketers have changed their price boards to reflect the new band. It’s no more hidden. It is better for fuel to be available at N180 or N185 than buying at N250 from black marketeers. Now, no more boys going around with jerry cans, you can drive in and buy with ease”, he said.

Meanwhile, findings showed on Sunday that fuel queues at petrol stations in Lagos and Abuja, which had lingered since February, suddenly disappeared over the weekend following the latest development.

Meanwhile, economist and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said that the current price is not sustainable.

According to him, the government is in the best position to control the prices of petrol if it cannot control diesel prices.

He said, “Already, National Bureau of Statistics reports make us understand that except for Lagos, Abuja and other big cities, petrol prices are already above N165/litre. That is the market reality, except the government doesn’t want private entities to get involved in the market because these guys are there to do business and not to run at a loss. These marketers share their figures with everybody. Most of these guys are based in Lagos and they transport their products in trucks that run on diesel. Can the government control the prices of diesel? If they can’t then, they should hand off regulating prices. They should first resolve the surging diesel prices and challenges at the depots before pouncing on marketers. Otherwise, their businesses will close down, and black marketers will take over the business – that’s when we will see more adulterated products capable of burning down houses and cars,” he said.

Also, a former Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria, Tunji Oyebanji, declined to comment on the new price but noted that the Federal Government’s price template was old and needed to be updated.

He said, “Nobody had any meeting with the NMDPRA. The only thing we have continued to say is that N165/litre is not sustainable because the template with which that price was arrived at made all the elements therein fixed and unchanged. Elements such as coastal, NPA, NIMASA jetty throughput, storage, and financing, which were used to arrive at the ex-depot price were all based on the old dollar and old diesel prices.

“All the items on the template have currently gone up because of the exchange rate which impacted our operating costs due to the high cost of diesel. As of the time when the template was done, diesel was N130/litre, now it is N800 which allows for an operating cost of N4.00. That is why N165/litre cannot work. Nobody is saying price should be this or that, but that government should come to our aid.”

According to him, if the price is not increased, marketers will soon go out of business.

Also reacting, a former Group Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, International Energy Services Limited, Dr Diran Fawibe, said, “The whole process is not transparent. If we had allowed market forces to determine prices, we wouldn’t be in the dilemma that we are currently in. Everybody is just throwing up figures and at the end of the day; it’s the consumers that will pay for it.  But as long as the government keeps giving subsidies, marketers will expect subsidies to keep increasing, and until we start to refine products in-country, the whole business will not just be murky but will soon turn into a monkey business.”

Credit: The Punch

BIG STORY

Police To Resume Nationwide Tinted Glass Permit Enforcement January 2, 2026

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The Nigeria Police Force has announced that it will resume the nationwide enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy from January 2, 2026, citing growing security concerns linked to the misuse of unauthorized tinted vehicle glass.

The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police Benjamin Hundeyin.

The police said the decision followed a review of emerging security threats and the need to enhance public safety, pending the final determination of a related matter currently before the court.

The Force clarified that there was no court order restraining it from enforcing the law regulating the use of tinted glass on vehicles.

It explained that enforcement was earlier suspended in the interest of transparency and public convenience, to allow motorists sufficient time to regularize their documentation and complete the permit application process without pressure.

According to the statement, recent security trends have revealed a rise in criminal activities carried out with the aid of vehicles fitted with unauthorized tinted glass.

Such vehicles, the police noted, have been used by criminals to conceal their identities while committing offences including armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

In view of these developments, the police said the resumption of enforcement had become necessary and urgent as a proactive step to safeguard lives and property across the country.

“Recent trends, however, reveal a disturbing rise in criminal activities perpetrated with the aid of vehicles fitted with unauthorized tinted glass.

“Some individuals and organized criminal groups have exploited this gap to conceal their identities and facilitate crimes ranging from armed robbery to kidnapping and other violent crimes.

“In view of this, the Nigeria Police Force has found it both necessary and urgent to resume full enforcement as a proactive measure to safeguard our communities. Consequently, enforcement of Tinted Glass Permit will resume on 2nd January, 2026,” the statement read.

 

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BIG STORY

Buhari Believed Aso Rock Gossip I Planned Killing Him, Began Locking His Room —— Aisha

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Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has narrated how her husband, the late President Muhammadu Buhari “began locking his room” following gossip in Aso Rock that she (Aisha) planned to kill him.

The ex-First Lady also said the health crisis that forced Buhari, to take 154 days of medical leave in 2017 began with a broken feeding routine and mismanaged nutrition.

She argued that Buhari’s illness was not a mysterious ailment or poisoning.

Her account of the health crisis appeared in a new 600-page biography, ’From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’, authored by Dr. Charles Omole, launched at the State House on Monday.

It read, “According to Aisha Buhari, her husband’s 2017 health crisis did not originate as a mysterious ailment or a covert plot. It started, she says, with the loss of a routine; ‘my nutrition,’ she describes it, a pattern of meals and supplements she had long overseen in Kaduna before they moved into Aso Villa.”

The former First Lady convened a meeting with close staff, including the physician, Suhayb Rafindadi; the CSO, Bashir Abubakar; the housekeeper, and the SSS DG to explain the plan.

She said, “Daily, cups and bowls with tailored vitamin powders and oils, a touch of protein here, a change to cereals there.”

“When the Presidency’s machinery took over our private lives, she explained the plan: daily, at specific hours, cups and bowls with tailored vitamin powders and oil, a touch of protein here, a change to cereals there. Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support,” Omole narrated.

However, the routine frayed.

“Then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him,” the book quotes her as saying.

“My husband believed them for a week or so,” she said, revealing that the President began locking his room, changed small habits, and crucially, “meals were delayed or missed; the supplements were stopped.”

“For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals,” she added.

The deterioration culminated in Buhari’s two extended medical trips to the United Kingdom, totalling 154 days in 2017, during which he ceded authority to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Upon return, he admitted to being “never so ill” and having received blood transfusions.

Buhari’s absences “sparked rumours, speculation, and even conspiracy theories,” Omole wrote.

Mrs Buhari debunked stories of plots to poison her husband.

Her contention, Omole noted, is that “loss of a routine, ‘my nutrition,’ was the genesis of the crisis.”

In London, doctors prescribed an even stronger regimen of supplements, he explained.

Initially, Buhari “was frightened and not taking them as prescribed. So she took charge of his welfare, slipping hospital-issued supplements into his juice and oats,” it read.

The former First Lady described the turnaround as swift, noting, “After just three days, he threw away the stick he was walking with. After a week, he was receiving relatives.”

“‘That,’ she says, ‘was the genesis, and also the reversal of his sickness,’” the book stated.

According to Omole, critics said Buhari’s reliance on UK hospitals exposed the failure of Nigeria’s health system.

A “more compassionate perspective,” he wrote, recognises that a man in his 70s may require specialised care “not readily available in Nigeria” after “decades of underinvestment.”

He also noted Buhari’s habit of handing power to his deputy during absences, which, he said, ensured “institutional propriety, even during personal health crises.”

The book also revealed a climate of mistrust around the Presidency.

Mrs Buhari alleged surveillance, the bugging of the President’s office with listening devices and playback of private conversations, saying, fear and conscience “contributed to taking his life.”

She refuted the long-held rumour that Buhari had a body double, popularly known as “Jibril of Sudan,” as absurd, arguing that poor strategic communication in government allowed simple, banal developments to metastasise into conspiracies.

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BIG STORY

Dangote Releases Details of ‘$5m Spent By NMDPRA CEO’ On His Children’s Secondary School Education In Switzerland [PHOTO]

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Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group, says Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), spent about $5 million on the secondary school education of his children in Switzerland.

In a paid newspaper advert on Tuesday, the billionaire said Ahmed paid the said amount for four of his children, covering a period of six years.

On Monday, Dangote had alleged that Ahmed Farouk “paid $5 million” to a Swiss secondary school for his children’s education, describing the act as “economic sabotage and corruption”.

Releasing details of his allegations, in the newspaper advert, Dangote listed the four children as Faisal Farouk, Farouk Jr., Ashraf Farouk, and Farhana Farouk.

According to the billionaire entrepreneur, the secondary schools the children attended for a duration of six years were Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institut Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School.

Dangoted also presented estimated annual tuition, living expenses, air travel, and upkeep, which were multiplied across four children and several years of study.

He said the annual cost of tuition, airfare, and upkeep per child was $200,000, which totals $800,000 per year for his four children.

The businessman further explained that the total living expenses and air tickets per child over six years was $1.2 million, amounting to $4.8 million for all four children.

Overall, Dangote estimated that the combined cost of tuition and upkeep for all the children reached $5 million.

He also listed the tertiary education expenses for Ahmed’s children, noting that tuition, upkeep, airfare, and other costs average approximately $125,000 per year over a four-year period.

According to the billionaire, this adds up to $500,000 for four years per child, totaling $2 million for all of them.

“Faisal just finished the 2025 Harvard MBA at $150,000 and $60,000 for upkeep, tickets and other incidentals. Total =$210,000 spent in 2025 for Faisal’s MBA,” he added.

Dangote said Nigerians deserve to know the source of the money “paid by a public officer while many parents in his home state of Sokoto cannot afford to pay N10,000 school fees for their children and wards”.

 

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