Nigeria’s federal government has directed fuel marketers to immediately reduce pump prices for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to align with the recent decline in global crude oil benchmarks.
The instruction comes as authorities seek to ensure that falling international energy costs are passed through to domestic consumers rather than absorbed as margin expansion by downstream operators.
The directive intensifies regulatory pressure on the country’s petroleum sector.
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has recently escalated its scrutiny of fuel marketers, warning that retail prices have remained sticky despite a sustained drop in global oil values.
The Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources has now formalized the expectation that pump prices must reflect current market realities, signaling a coordinated push to curb perceived pricing abuses.
This development underscores the ongoing tension between global commodity trends and local retail pricing power in Africa’s largest economy.