Friday, August 28, 2026 - The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and several civil society organisations have accused the Federal Government and the petroleum industry operators of worsening the hardship faced by Nigerians through repeated increases in petrol prices.
They also faulted the government’s regulatory agencies for
failing to protect consumers from what they described as exploitation in the
downstream petroleum sector.
Reacting to the latest hike in petrol prices across the
country, NLC Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, alleged that powerful
interests were working against ordinary Nigerians.
“There is a gang-up against the Nigerian masses by the
elite, unfortunately with the seeming support of the ruling class,” Onyeka
said.
According to him, the increase in fuel prices is difficult
to justify, especially as crude oil prices have remained relatively stable and
the exchange rate has improved compared to previous months.
“The only justification for increasing petroleum product
prices can only be seen from the standpoint of capitalist greed and the
benefits of monopoly,” he stated.
Onyeka warned that the dominance of a few major operators in
the sector was creating conditions for arbitrary price increases, adding that
government regulators had remained “worryingly silent.”
He further argued that Nigeria would continue to face fuel
price shocks until local refineries, particularly government-owned facilities,
become fully operational.
Backing the NLC’s position, the Civil Society Legislative
Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, also expressed concern over the latest price increase,
saying Nigerians were already battling rising transport costs, food inflation
and declining purchasing power.
CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, stressed
that deregulation should not become a cover for exploitation.
“Deregulation cannot mean absence of regulation,
transparency or consumer protection,” Vanguard him as saying.
He called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum
Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection
Commission, FCCPC, and other relevant agencies to investigate the factors
behind the latest increase and determine whether anti-competitive practices
were involved.
Similarly, ActionAid Nigeria urged the government to
intervene by ensuring transparency in fuel pricing and protecting consumers
from unfair market practices.
ActionAid Country Director, Dr Andrew Mamedu, noted that
petrol price increases quickly affect transportation, food prices, businesses
and household incomes.
“Nigerians should not continue to bear unexplained increases
in the cost of essential commodities.
“Businesses have a right to make reasonable profits, but
citizens also have a right to protection from exploitation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association
of Nigeria (IPMAN) blamed the latest increase on repeated adjustments to the
ex-depot price by Dangote Refinery.
IPMAN National Public Relations Officer, Chinedu Ukadike,
said marketers had been forced to adjust pump prices to avoid selling at a
loss.
“Every time Dangote increases his price, our price will also
rise,” Ukadike said.
According to him, the refinery increased its gantry price
from N1,165 per litre to N1,185 and later to N1,200 per litre within a week.
The development has already been reflected in pump prices in
Abuja, where several filling stations have raised their rates.
He also questioned the continued importation of petrol at
higher prices when locally refined products are available, arguing that
stronger support for domestic refining could help stabilise fuel prices and
reduce pressure on foreign exchange.
Woman snatches wig off dead sister's head during funeral in
revenge because the deceased slept with her baby daddy. “I won't let her go
with what’s mine”
An African-American lady, Kiera Williams, has revealed that
she snatched her wig off her d3ad sister's head during the woman's funeral.
Kiera, who disclosed this in a Facebook post on Wednesday,
August 26, 2026, claimed that she and her late sister weren't on speaking terms
when she passed away because the deceased was sleeping with her baby daddy.
According to her, after they fell out, she asked for her wig
bag but her sister claimed she lost it.
Kiera further claimed that her late sister always took
what was hers and she will be damned if she lets her go into the grave with her
wig as well.
The woman added that she doesn't forgive her sister even in
d3ath.
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