At N1400per litre , the petral pump now decides life in Nigeria.

##At many petrol stations in Nigeria today, the story is written on the pump meter. The numbers run fast. Ten thousand naira gives you only seven litres. Three years ago, that same ten thousand naira could take a driver from Lagos to Ibadan and back. Now it cannot even do daily school runs for three days. This is the new daily life after fuel subsidy removal.

According to data, petrol sold for about N238 per litre in May 2023 before subsidy was removed. Today, TheCable reports petrol selling at N1,385 to N1,400 per litre in Lagos, and up to N1,470 in other states. In some places before subsidy removal it was N187. Now it is N1,400.

How petrol price entered every home

Petrol price is not just transport. When petrol goes up, everything goes up. Transport fare from Ogba to Ojota moved from N200 to N500. A tomato seller who brings tomatoes from Mile 12 to Ogba now pays double to move her goods. So she increases price of tomato. A student in Yaba who used to go to class daily now goes three times a week because fare eats feeding money. A worker in Ogun who works in Lagos now wakes up at 4am to find cheaper bus.

TheCable reports that federal, state and local governments now share N2.42 trillion monthly compared to N760 billion in 2022, but for ordinary people life is harder. Prices of food, rent, and small business costs have all climbed because everything moves with petrol or diesel. Diesel now sells at about N1,900 per litre, so even businesses using generator pay more.

Why cheaper CNG has not reduced fare

Government introduced compressed natural gas CNG at N380 per SCM to help. CNG is four times cheaper than petrol. A bus driver using petrol spends N30,000 per day on fuel for Ogba route. Same route, a CNG driver spends only N5,000 per day. You would expect fare to drop from N500 to N300. But it has not. TheCable investigation found both CNG and petrol buses charge same N500 from Ogba to Ojota.

• People now trek longer distances to save fare
• Families visit relatives once in two weeks instead of weekly to save fuel
• Many car owners park private cars and use danfo
• Small shops close early because generator cost is high
• Workers negotiate to work from home two days a week

At the petrol station you see it clearly. A woman with two yellow jerry cans waiting. A young man calculating on phone before telling attendant to put N3,000. A private car owner buying small fuel and parking car for rest of week. The pump has become a place where daily budget is decided. Full story here TheCable

Until transport system, fuel supply, and union pricing are fixed together, the petrol station will continue to control how Nigerians eat, move, work, and live. The price on the pump is now the price of daily survival.