Nigeria’s state oil company says it is increasing the price of petrol two days after President Bola Tinubu announced during his inaugural speech that a subsidy on petroleum products would be scrapped.

In a statement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says the move is in line with market realities: “It is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics.”

The price for petrol is currently set at 185 naira ($0.40, £0.32) per litre.

The state regulator did not specify what the new price would be or when it would come in, but a leaked list, confirmed by the NNPC, said the new price range would be between 488 naira and 550 naira a litre.

BBC reporters have already seen prices of 537 naira per litre at government petrol stations in cities like Lagos and the capital, Abuja

In the last two days, there has been a scarcity of fuel, with winding petrol queues nationwide as people feared a price increase.

Nigeria’s newly sworn-in President Bola Tinubu announced during his inauguration on Monday that the country’s decades-long fuel subsidy would be removed. His office later clarified that this would not happen until the end of June – and urged people to stop panic-buying.

The prices of kerosene and diesel have remained unchanged – but the uncertainty over prices is likely to lead to further chaos as people stock up.

Source: BBC