# Nigeria's Fuel Pricing, Explained

> Nigeria subsidised petrol prices for decades before President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy on 29 May 2023, tripling pump prices almost overnight. This explainer covers the subsidy's history, its removal, how the National Bureau of Statistics tracks pump prices today, and the ongoing debate over full downstream deregulation.

**Category:** Current Affairs / Live Facts · **Updated:** 2026-07-26 19:36:35 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/nigeria-fuel-pricing

## Key facts
- **Subsidy removal date:** 29 May 2023 — announced in Tinubu's inauguration speech
- **Pre-removal petrol price:** ≈₦198–₦238 per litre (regulated)
- **Cumulative subsidy cost, 2006–2023:** ₦15.57 trillion (NEITI)
- **NBS Petrol (PMS) Price Watch:** Monthly report; average consumer pump price by state and zone
- **Average pump price, Nov 2025:** ₦1,061.35/litre (NBS), down 12.6% year-on-year
- **Major new domestic refiner:** Dangote Petroleum Refinery, 650,000 bpd, began fuel sales 2024
- **As of:** 22 July 2026

## Sources
- 'Subsidy is gone,' Tinubu declares — Punch Newspapers (https://punchng.com/subsidy-is-gone-tinubu-declares/)
- Cost of Fuel Subsidy to the Nation: Options for Policy Review — Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) (https://www.neiti.gov.ng/resources)
- Nigeria — Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) (https://microdata.nigerianstat.gov.ng/index.php/catalog/157)
- Average petrol retail price hits N1,061 in November 2025 — NBS — Nairametrics (https://nairametrics.com/2025/12/23/average-petrol-retail-price-hits-n1061-in-november-2025-nbs/)
- Nigerian labour unions begin strike against fuel price hike, cost of living — Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/2/nigerian-labour-unions-begin-strike-against-fuel-price-hike-cost-of-living)
- Dangote Sells Fuel in Dollars: Is It Legal? Will Prices Rise? And What Should You Do? — Mondaq (legal/policy analysis, Nigeria) (https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/oil-gas-electricity/1820028/dangote-sells-fuel-in-dollars-is-it-legal-will-prices-rise-and-what-should-you-do)

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