Fuel scarcity bites harder as marketers adjust pump price to N195 in Abuja, N185in Lagos - Newstrends
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Fuel scarcity bites harder as marketers adjust pump price to N195 in Abuja, N185in Lagos

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4 years ago

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• Supply dropped by 40% – IPMAN

It was confusion galore yesterday in the oil sector after Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) increased the price of petrol to N185 per litre while the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, denied any such increase.

He said mischief makers were the brains behind the claims of increase in the price of fuel.
Yet the fuel scarcity continued across the country amidst claims by the deputy president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Zarma Mustapha, that petrol supply to marketers by private depots had dropped by about 40 per cent.

Mobil, Conoil, TotalEnergies, Nipco, Enyo, Forte and NORTH-WEST filling stations in Lagos adjusted their pump price early yesterday  to reflect N185 per litre against N169 previously.

Motorists in Lagos who had queued for several hours at the filling stations were shocked to see the adjusted price.

Some other major filling stations in Lagos metropolis, especially Ikeja and Agege areas, did not dispense fuel.

Some marketers, who preferred anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the federal government had begun the subsidy withdrawal, urging marketers to adjust their pump price.

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The marketers claimed that government might have commenced a gradual removal of petrol subsidy.

No fuel price increase, says Sylva

However, Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, denied any increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

He said in a statement through his Senior Adviser (Media & Communications), Horatius Egua, that President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any price increase for PMS.

His words: “President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any increase in the price of PMS or any other petroleum product for that matter. There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time.

“Mr President is sensitive to the plight of the ordinary Nigerian and has said repeatedly that he understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate.

“Government will not approve any increase of PMS secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders.

“The President has not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel.

“This is not the time for any price increase in pump price of PMS.

“What is playing out is the handiwork of mischief makers and those planning to discredit the achievements of Mr President in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

“I appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and law abiding as the government is working hard to bring normalcy to fuel supply and distribution in the country.”

Other stakeholders feign ignorance of hike

Other critical stakeholders either feigned ignorance of the development or were out of reach to respond to reporters’ enquiries.

Several sources in the Nigeria Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), the industry regulator, said they were not aware of any price increase.

NMDPRA’s spokesman, Kimchi Apollo, could also not be reached on his mobile phone for comments.

The Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Clement Isong’s mobile phone was also “not reachable.”

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The Chief Communications Officer, NNPCL, Garba Deen Muhammad, did not respond to the calls put through to him.

The National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Okonkwo, in a telephone chat with The Nation, said he was in the dark as to the directive leading to the price hike.

“We have not been communicated by any official or regulator on the N185 per litre petrol price, so we are also in the dark on this like every other Nigerian.

“Government has also not said anything about it openly. So I cannot comment on what I am not aware of. Mmaybe by Monday we will have a clearer picture of the development,” Okonkwo said.

The development has fueled speculations that the federal government may have subtly begun the removal of subsidy on petrol and by extension, a complete deregulation of the sector, which for long has been the clamour of both MOMAN and IPMAN.

In 2022, the federal government spent over N6 trillion on subsidy.

But Okonkwo said the sector remained regulated.

He said: “For us as IPMAN, we are still in the regime of subsidy. But I tell you, deregulation is the way to go on this matter.

“We should pray for the availability of the product, because when it is not available, you will be tempted to look for it in any way.

“The operating environment is very harsh even to NNPC, because they import the product and dollar is increasing in value against the naira. Everything around petrol is ‘dollarised’ even for charges that we pay for locally like NIMASA and NPA charges.

“All the other costs associated with petrol are also charged in dollar. Government needs to remove the dollar business around petrol especially for those we can do locally. When this is done, prices will also go down.”

Supply to oil marketers down by 40% – IPMAN

Speaking on Channels Television yesterday on the fuel scarcity, IPMAN deputy president, Zarma Mustapha, admitted that there was some confusion in the sector and independent marketers do not  “really understand what is going on.”

He also said supply to marketers by private depots has dropped by about 40 per cent.

The volume of petrol imported by NNPC, according to him, has been affecting ‘paucity of the funds’ of the federal government.

He said: “Because of that, the supply that we receive as marketers at the loading points, we believe we don’t get what we usually get – even 50 per cent of what we get.

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“Some [time] in July, August, the volume of liftings we had and what we have today has dropped by about 50 percent or 40 per cent.”

Mustapha added that the lingering presence of queues at fuel stations across the country could be due to the high cost of the subsidy.

“We are just assuming maybe the volume of the products they are bringing in – the more the volume, the more the cost of the subsidy.”

“It doesn’t seem that they are bringing in more. If they’re bringing in more, we would be having the same volume that we usually get at the loading point.

“As of today, with what is trending at the private depots, the volume available is not enough. The private depots also contribute by not giving the product as it is being regulated by the NNPC.”

The IPMAN deputy president said the regulatory body would be in the best position to answer the public and give details on why and how the price was adjusted to the new one.

“The price was not done to only appease the marketers but to ensure that the supply chain is being sustained, because the marketers are also in business and you can’t lift a product, resell it and you’re not making any returns on it, I don’t think anybody will continue to do that.

“We’re in a very dicey situation. NNPC imports, distributes to private depots and note that we independent marketers don’t have the depots as I am talking to you today, I brought the product from a depot in Lagos at N247 per litre to be transported down to far North at the cost of N50 to N60 per litre. Not the fancy prices we are seeing.

“Even we ourselves as independent marketers, we don’t understand what is really happening. We have raised our concerns to the regulatory bodies and have told them what we’re experiencing.

“We are supposed to get this product at N148 but we are buying at N220 and it keeps increasing.N240 in Lagos, N235 in Warri, N240 in Port Harcourt, in Calabar it is as high as N250 per litre for marketers, and you buy and transport yourself to where your retail outlet is.

“There is a lot of confusions in the industry, which the government must come in and address these confusions so that the common man can get the product for the approved price. We cannot buy the product between 220 to 240 naira, transport it for about N50, which is already N300, then expect the marketer to sell to the public for N200 or N190. It is not realisable.”

Stop fuel diversion, trucks hijack to end fuel scarcity, ANRPM tells FG

The Association of Nigeria refineries Petroleum Marketers (ANRPM) advised the federal government to check fuel diversion and hijack of trucks to end the current scarcity of fuel in some parts of the country.

It also cautioned marketers and distributors against engaging in petroleum products diversion and trucks hijacking.

South-West Zonal Chairman of the ANRPM, Hon Iwalewa Olatubosun, said in Akure yesterday that the association was ready to join the fight against products adulteration, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, illegal bunkering and sundry criminal activities in the oil sector

Olatubosun said the association would take stringent measures to ensuring that any of its members caught perpetrating the act would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The fuel scarcity persisted yesterday across the country.

The filling stations that had fuel sold at various prices ranging between N250 and N400 per litre.

Road side hawkers also kept exploiting motorists who could not afford to queue and buy at a  cheaper price.

Fuel was available in many parts of Edo State but at high prices.

A litre cost as much as N400 in Kaduna black markets.

 Lagos back-pedals on order restricting sales

The Lagos State Government withdrew its order stopping filling stations on the state’s highways from dispensing fuel by 4.00pm.

The government had on Thursday, ordered all filling stations on the state’s highways to operate between 9.00am and 4.00pm each day.

However, Transportation Commissioner, Frederic Oladeinde, in a statement yesterday said government had noticed the reactions generated by its directive to major and independent petroleum marketers operating on major roads.

He said the measure was to stop the traffic congestion that had resulted from their activities and that it was not to compound the hardship motorists and commuters had experienced because of the lingering fuel shortage.

“Following assurances from some of the offending filling stations, the 9am to 4pm restriction will no longer be enforced.

“For the avoidance of doubt, filling stations are not restricted from doing their business, but fuel marketers have a responsibility to ensure that their activities do not cause any disruption whatsoever to traffic flow. It is against the law to impede the free flow of traffic on our roads.

“Traffic Management Agencies have been directed to invoke the law should any marketer be found to have allowed queues on its premises spill onto major roads in a disorderly manner that impedes traffic flow,” Oladeinde said.

The Nation

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Former MFM Pastor Femi Jimoh Dies After Years of Detention, Legal Dispute

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8 hours ago

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August 20, 2026

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Former MFM Pastor Femi Jimoh

Former MFM Pastor Femi Jimoh Dies After Years of Detention, Legal Dispute 

Former pastor of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, MFM, Femi Jimoh, has reportedly died, years after his release from a prolonged detention that became the centre of a bitter legal dispute involving the church.

Jimoh’s death was reported on Thursday, August 20, 2026, by UK-based Nigerian blogger Maureen Badejo and subsequently reported by Sahara Reporters and other media platforms. Reports said the former pastor had battled serious health challenges following his years in detention and an alleged gunshot injury to his leg. However, the specific cause of his death has not been independently established.

His death has brought renewed attention to the controversial case in which he and two other former MFM pastors were accused of conspiring to rob the church.

Jimoh was arrested in January 2008 and subsequently prosecuted alongside Henry Aiyewero and Caleb Oloruntele over allegations connected with a planned robbery of MFM.

Court records later showed that Jimoh remained in custody for about eight years before he was discharged and acquitted by a Lagos State High Court. The National Industrial Court, in a subsequent judgment concerning his employment dispute with MFM, noted that he had been arrested on January 25, 2008, prosecuted for robbery and conspiracy to rob the church, and remained incarcerated until his acquittal and discharge.

Following his release, Jimoh became increasingly vocal about his experience in detention. His account gained widespread attention after a 2024 interview with Yoruba Gidi TV, during which he alleged that his ordeal had begun after he encountered Michael Gbadamosi, who was then the Chief Security Officer to MFM founder, Pastor Daniel Olukoya, at the residence of a native doctor.

Jimoh alleged that he was subsequently arrested and detained without knowing the offence for which he was being held.

He further claimed that he was initially kept in a cell for about 30 days without access to a lawyer and was later subjected to physical abuse.

According to his account, he was handcuffed and transported in the boot of a vehicle before being taken to Olukoya’s residence. He alleged that he pleaded with the MFM founder not to allow him to be returned to police custody because he did not understand why he was being detained.

Jimoh also made the serious allegation that a Divisional Police Officer shot him in the leg during his detention.

He claimed that he was subsequently taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, where he and others allegedly spent several weeks before being charged with offences including conspiracy, armed robbery and felony. These allegations were made by Jimoh and have not been independently established as facts.

The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries strongly rejected Jimoh’s allegations.

In a statement issued in 2024, the church denied that it or its General Overseer, Pastor Daniel Olukoya, had imprisoned Jimoh or Caleb Oloruntele for nine years.

MFM’s Chief Legal Adviser, Davidson Adejuwon, described the allegations as false and maintained that the church did not frame the former pastors or cause them to remain in custody. The church also disputed claims that Olukoya had used his influence to secure their prolonged detention.

MFM maintained that the criminal case was a matter between the accused persons and the relevant law-enforcement and prosecuting authorities, rather than an action in which the church had unlawfully detained them.

The controversy did not end with Jimoh’s release.

He subsequently instituted proceedings concerning his employment relationship with MFM, including claims relating to his salary and employment status during the period he was incarcerated.

In its judgment, the National Industrial Court examined the circumstances surrounding his arrest and prolonged incarceration.

The court record stated that MFM had argued that Jimoh had effectively abandoned his employment because of his prolonged absence. The church also maintained that his arrest and prosecution were undertaken by the police and the Lagos State authorities and were not caused by the church in the manner alleged by Jimoh.

The court, however, found that Jimoh could not reasonably be regarded as having voluntarily absconded from work because he was in custody following his arrest and prosecution. The judgment noted that he had remained incarcerated for about eight years until his acquittal and discharge.

The legal battle therefore became a separate chapter in the long-running controversy surrounding his relationship with the church.

The criminal case eventually ended in Jimoh’s favour when the Lagos State High Court discharged and acquitted him and the other defendants.

The acquittal became a central part of Jimoh’s subsequent public account of his experience, particularly his argument that he had spent years in custody over allegations he maintained were unfounded.

However, the acquittal did not resolve all the disagreements between Jimoh and MFM, with the former pastor continuing to make allegations against the church and its leadership, while MFM consistently rejected his claims.

Jimoh’s reported death has now revived public interest in the circumstances surrounding his arrest, years-long detention and subsequent legal battles.

His supporters and commentators have questioned why he spent so many years in custody before the conclusion of his trial, while others have pointed to the need to distinguish between allegations made by the late pastor and matters established by the courts.

For now, reports surrounding his death remain subject to further confirmation, particularly regarding the circumstances and medical cause of his passing.

The controversy surrounding his detention also remains a complex matter involving allegations by Jimoh, denials by MFM and documented court proceedings.

As news of his death spread on Thursday, tributes and reactions began emerging online, with many Nigerians recalling the former pastor’s emotional accounts of his years in custody and the prolonged dispute that followed his release.

Jimoh’s death marks the end of the life of a former MFM minister whose name became closely associated with one of the most controversial detention and church-related legal disputes to attract significant public attention in Nigeria in recent years.

For the family, former colleagues and supporters, however, the immediate focus is likely to be on mourning his passing, while questions surrounding his long detention and the events that followed continue to generate public debate.

 

Former MFM Pastor Femi Jimoh Dies After Years of Detention, Legal Dispute

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40 Feared Dead as Overloaded Boat Carrying Farmers and Children Capsizes in Sokoto

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12 hours ago

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August 20, 2026

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40 Feared Dead as Overloaded Boat Carrying Farmers and Children Capsizes in Sokoto

40 Feared Dead as Overloaded Boat Carrying Farmers and Children Capsizes in Sokoto

At least 40 people are feared dead after an overloaded wooden canoe carrying farmers and farm labourers capsized in Gorau town, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, with many of the victims reportedly children aged between 10 and 15 years who had been brought along to assist with the rice harvest. The tragic incident occurred on Thursday morning, August 20, 2026, while the passengers were crossing a stream to access their rice farms on the opposite bank. An eyewitness reported that more than 70 people were aboard the vessel when it capsized shortly after departure, giving those on board little time to react.

A significant number of those on board were children aged between 10 and 15 years who had been brought along to assist with the rice harvest. The victims included both farm owners and hired labourers who had gathered to collect rice from farms across the waterway. Local journalist Sharhabilu Yahuza Kiliya, who was present at the scene, confirmed the devastating toll: “So far, we have recovered about 40 bodies, while six people, including the village head, were rescued.” The village head of the community was among those on board but survived the accident.

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Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority, confirmed to Reuters that around 40 corpses of children had been recovered. “I can confirm that so far around 40 corpses of children have been recovered,” he said in a statement. Rescue operations are still ongoing, with local divers searching the waterway for those still missing and recovering bodies. “The canoe capsized shortly after take-off. Rescue operations are still ongoing, with local divers searching for those still missing and recovering bodies,” Kiliya added. Local resident Nasiru Gorau confirmed that “our local divers recovered the bodies and the search is still ongoing.” The final death toll has not yet been confirmed as search efforts continue. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) have mobilised response teams to the scene to assess the situation and coordinate rescue efforts.

40 Feared Dead as Overloaded Boat Carrying Farmers and Children Capsizes in Sokoto

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EFCC arraigns two over alleged unlawful supply of FCMB access credentials

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12 hours ago

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August 20, 2026

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EFCC arraigns two over alleged unlawful supply of FCMB access credentials

EFCC arraigns two over alleged unlawful supply of FCMB access credentials

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned two men before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over the alleged unlawful supply of bank access credentials capable of providing access to the database of First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

The defendants, Gideon Bakpa Aghogho and Oscar Ebere Chukwuebuka, were arraigned on Wednesday by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC before Justice F.N. Ogazi on an eight-count charge bordering on the alleged unlawful disclosure and supply of access credentials to the bank’s computer system.

A third suspect, identified simply as Scott, was also named in the charges but remains at large.

The offences were brought under Sections 27 and 28(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, according to the prosecution.

One of the counts alleged that the defendants, between July 24 and July 26, 2026, conspired to supply Aghogho’s access code to the FCMB system through a local administrative credential.

The EFCC alleged that the credential was capable of granting access to the bank’s Virtual Centre Platform and was supplied with the intention of using the access to commit an offence.

In another count, the commission alleged that Aghogho, sometime between April and May 2025, knowingly and without lawful authority disclosed sensitive credentials connected to FCMB’s systems.

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According to the prosecution, the information allegedly included the bank’s server IP and domain credentials, which could be used to gain access to the bank’s database.

The EFCC further alleged that the credentials were supplied in exchange for $15,000.

When the charges were read to the defendants, Aghogho pleaded not guilty, while Chukwuebuka pleaded guilty.

Following Aghogho’s plea, EFCC prosecution counsel Bilkisu Buhari asked the court to fix a date for trial and sought an order for his remand in a correctional facility.

In relation to Chukwuebuka, who entered a guilty plea, the prosecution requested an opportunity to review the facts of the case before proceeding with the matter.

Justice Ogazi subsequently adjourned the case until August 27, 2026, for review of facts and other proceedings.

The judge also ordered that both defendants be remanded in a correctional centre pending the next hearing.

The case centres on allegations involving the unauthorised disclosure and supply of privileged banking-system credentials, raising wider concerns about the security of financial institutions’ digital infrastructure.

Administrative credentials can provide elevated access to computer systems and, if improperly disclosed or used, may expose sensitive databases and other protected resources to unauthorised persons. The alleged conduct in this case is therefore being prosecuted under Nigeria’s cybercrime legislation.

The EFCC’s allegations, however, have not been established as facts by the court. The prosecution will be required to prove its case through evidence, while the defendants remain entitled to the presumption of innocence until otherwise determined by the court.

The case will return before Justice Ogazi on August 27 for further proceedings.

EFCC arraigns two over alleged unlawful supply of FCMB access credentials

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