By Mujibah Abubakar

Experts have attributed the rising price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to fluctuations in global crude oil prices and international crises affecting oil supply.

They spoke on the StandPoint programme on Emirate FM, hosted by Bukola Omosewo, with Dr. Sunday Adeseko and Comrade Buko Idris as guests.

Mujibah Abubakar who monitored the programme gathered that Dr. Adeseko described the continued increase in petrol prices as unfortunate, noting that Nigerians had expected the coming on stream of the Dangote Refinery to lead to a reduction in petroleum prices. He urged government regulatory agencies to ensure that marketers review their prices whenever the international factors responsible for the hike are resolved.

Also speaking, Comrade Idris said petrol is an essential commodity that affects every Nigerian, as many households depend on it for transportation and alternative power supply due to inadequate electricity. He explained that fluctuations in global crude oil prices inevitably affect domestic pump prices.

Recall that Nigeria has witnessed repeated adjustments in petrol pump price since the removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023, a policy that ended decades of government-regulated pricing and fully deregulated the downstream sector. Since then, domestic prices have become directly tied to international crude oil prices, exchange rate movements and cost of importation and refining.

The Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, commenced operations last year and was widely expected to stabilise supply and reduce prices. However, industry analysts noted that since the refinery operates in a deregulated market and sources crude at international prices, its products are still subject to global market dynamics.