News
Poor economy: Heavy drop in fuel consumption, as Nigerians groan!
Petrol consumption nationwide has fallen by 28 per cent over the past two years, as pump attendants across filling stations are left with scanty vehicular calls, with latest figures from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showing that the daily volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, dropped from 68.353 million litres in June 2023, when fuel subsidy was removed, to 49.277 million litres in June 2025.
Vanguard reports that since the coming on stream of the Dangote Refinery, marketers have reviewed prices multiple times, explained that investigations last weekend showed that despite fuel stations across major cities in Nigeria adjusting prices and displaying same, a large number of consumers no longer bother with the price as they make purchase decisions before getting to the fuel station.
It added that such decisions were always based on availability of money and considerations for competing needs in their lives, stating that low patronage and dwindling vehicle presence at the fuel stations, were causing rise in idle time at the stations.
For instance, Ibrahim Gambo, Station Manager at RYBL Services Limited in Karshi, Abuja, was quoted as saying that it now took about two months to sell a single 30,000-litre tanker due to poor patronage, adding: “The market is not moving well. We used to have three pump attendants, but now we keep only one. We cannot pay salaries for three because sales are too low.
‘’Before, people came with jerry cans, but now you hardly see that. Many only buy when they have important and compelling need to drive. Also, people are now using generators at home sparingly.”
In filling stations visited in some parts of Lagos, including Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Ajegunle and Orile, independent marketers lamented that sales have dropped significantly, with another attendant, this time at Techno Oil at Alaba Oro, saying: “Within the last two weeks, the price of petrol increased by N50 and dropped N20 few days ago. But one cannot say the business is all that lucrative at the moment.
‘’This is because, prior to deregulation, we had a lot of demand from customers to fill up when cars come to purchase fuel, but the reverse is the case now. Most times, our turnover is very low compared to what was obtainable in the past.”
The situation, however, appeared to be different at retail outlets such as MRS, one the retail partners to the Dangote Refinery and sells petrol at about the lowest price in the country, and Fatgbems at Amuwo, Oshodi/Apapa expressway, and Mile 2 road, respectively which had long queues of cars trying to buy petrol, where the pump price was pegged at N865 per litre, compared to N870 to N890 at other stations.
At the MRS station, an attendant who identified herself simply as Chinenye, said: “We are very grateful for the number of customers and the turnover we are getting. I can tell you for certain that things have turned around for us at MRS, against the regulated period of the downstream.”
Retail outlets visited along Benin-Asaba Road showed a few vehicles being attended to. Vanguard gathered that pump price has also dropped from an average of N950 per litre it sold a week ago, to the current rate of N910 per litre.
In Nasarawa State, checks by Vanguard showed that while most stations operated by independents and major marketers remained largely empty, those operated by MRS, AYM Sharfa and AA Rano had a good number of vehicles, tricycles (Keke) and commercial motor cycles (Okada) in them.
With very few vehicles seen at filling stations visited in Kano, where pump attendants could be seen sitting idle in most of the filing stations, a petrol attendant at Ammasco, Court Road branch, lamented low patronage of customers, explaining that the low patronage has affected their daily sales.
One A. Y. Maikifi, who said sales had dropped drastically due to rise in the pump price of the product, added: “You can’t compare sales two years ago with now. We recorded more sales in the past than now. The increase in the price of fuel is the major factor for the low patronage.’’
In Kaduna, attendants across the stations visited by Vanguard disclosed that sales had improved slightly compared to recent weeks, as motorists were returning to the pumps. However, they observed that sales volumes remained lower than they were two years ago, largely due to fewer vehicles on the roads and the increasing shift to Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, by some vehicle owners.
The gloomy picture at petrol stations contrasts sharply with the growing demand for Compressed Natural Gas, CNG.
Across the FCT, long queues were seen at CNG outlets, where prices range from N230 to N235 per kilogram, far lower than petrol.
At the NNPC CNG retail station in Wuse Zone 2, a Bolt driver, Onyebuchi Okeke, told Vanguard he had already spent an hour on the queue but noted that the waiting was worth it.
“I really don’t mind the time because it is by far cheaper than petrol. I have a 10kg cylinder and it costs just N2,300 to fill. I will work with it for about four hours and make over N10,000. So, I will be here until it’s my turn. I have about half a tank of petrol in my car. It has been there for about two weeks. If there is need to use it, I will,” he stated.
He disclosed that he hardly goes to filling stations to buy, adding that “since I got my car converted to CNG, I don’t go to petrol stations often. It is once in a while.”
The report, quoted Chinedu Ukadike, spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), as saying it was a trying time for independent marketers, while attributing the drop to the increase in the price of the product, vehicle conversions to CNG and the general hike in the cost of living in the country.
Stressing that the drop in consumers volume could partly be due to reduction in the volumes smuggled across Nigeria’s borders to neighbouring countries due to removal of subsidies in Nigeria, he said: “The issue of smuggling has dropped drastically. Movement across the borders have dropped because the removal of subsidies means that neighbouring countries which have been benefiting from low prices in Nigeria are no longer able to do so.
“Secondly, many vehicles have been converted to CNG because it is cheaper. I am sure you have noticed the length of queues at the CNG stations. It is far cheaper and makes more economic sense. In fact, if the presidential committee on CNG continues to work at the rate they are doing, by this time next year, petrol supply will drop by half of what NMDPRA has declared.
“Thirdly, small scale industries are also converting to gas usage. All these have made the petrol supply business not as lucrative as it used to be. The cost in petrol price has also moderated the pocket of Nigerians. Since the removal of subsidies, many car owners have dropped cars and now use commercial vehicles. Also a lot of people now use commercial motor bikes to pick up items or parcels, rather than drive to pick them.”
On the impact of the drop in consumption on their business, Ukadike said: “It is actually a trying time for marketers. The return on investment is now very small. For most, the turnover is not more than one truck per month, for some it is one truck in two months.
“This is why we have been asking government to intervene so that independent marketers do not go out of business. With the way things are going, independent marketers will go into extinction by 2028.”
Henry Adigun, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) AHA Consultancies, while enhancing the belief by experts that frequent price changes were unhealthy for sector, was quoted as saying that for the sector to attract the needed investment, there had to be more certainty in the downstream sector.
“The downstream market should be driven by competition. The market must be fair, must be seen to be fair, must be well regulated and must provide benefits for consumers. When there is competition in any market, the consumers benefit.
“The Dangote Refinery is a state-of-the-art facility and there is no other in the country that can compete with it. That is why government has continued to allow importation of petrol. That is the only way to provide competition, for now. Competition ensures that there is no monopoly and price gorging.
“The frequent changes in price is leading to a lot of losses in the market, and this will affect the capacity of marketers to pay back money loaned secured from banks to purchase the product.”
From Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s former President, came a mild rebuke to Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, who in assessing the quality of his six-year tenure as Nigerian leader, all but dismissed him as “inexperienced.”
Atiku, a guest of Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, last week, told his host that Jonathan was inexperienced, saying his tenure was marked by notable missteps.
“I know Goodluck Jonathan very well. He is a decent young man, but also inexperienced, and I believe that contributed to his inability to manage the affairs of the country, particularly when he was faced with challenges,” Atiku, currently chasing the number one job the former President exited in 2015 for the seventh time, said.
But in a measured riposte at the 2025 Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria awards ceremony in Abuja on Monday, Jonathan, while acknowledging that he must have made some mistakes, argued that errors were inevitably with human beings as only God could be perfect,
Reacting to Atiku’s remarks, he told his audience: “So not too long ago, a very senior politician said, ‘Oh, Jonathan was too young and probably that’s why he made mistakes.’
“If I made mistakes, yes, nobody who becomes a governor or a president will say you did not make mistakes. Even when you promote yourself to the level of a god, you become a deity.
“All human beings must make mistakes. I became president in 2010 at the age of 53. I left in 2015 at the age of 58, and they say I was too young. Must it have been 100 years before I ran the affairs of the state?
“I’m talking to diplomats, so I can say that during my period, I knew what I did for us to appear in the UN Security Council two times… If I were so naive, I don’t think I would have been able to navigate through that process.”
Jonathan also spoke on regional affairs, warning that political instability remains a major obstacle to economic growth across West Africa. He stressed that without stable governance systems, meaningful development in the sub-region would remain elusive.
“We cannot progress economically if we are very unstable societies politically,” he said.
Jonathan noted that while the founders of ECOWAS envisioned strong economic cooperation, persistent political crises have hindered progress, particularly in enforcing democratic standards among member states.
“That means that ECOWAS must interfere with the internal affairs of the states, and the issue of sovereignty becomes a problem,” he said.
Jonathan urged leaders in the region to work collectively towards stability, saying, “The heads of states of ECOWAS must continue to work together and agree on concrete terms and make sure that the sub-region is politically stable.”
He added that economic integration efforts would falter without solid democratic institutions and called on Nigerian diplomats to properly document foreign policy experiences for future leaders.
Paying tribute to ECOWAS founders, including former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, Jonathan described the creation of the bloc in 1975 as a bold and necessary step toward regional unity and economic integration.
Gowon, who was also honoured at the event, recounted the origins of ECOWAS, linking its formation to post-war diplomatic engagements across West Africa.
According to him, “It was as a result of the various efforts of all Nigerians when we went through a very difficult period, and I had to go to the various countries to say thank you.”
He said discussions with regional leaders at the time led to a shared vision for broader cooperation.
“Why don’t we also think about having something that we can at least have in agreement for all of us when we are working together?” he said.
Gowon emphasised that ECOWAS was the product of collective effort rather than individual ambition, crediting government institutions and civil servants for its success.
“This would not have been possible without the support of all the staff of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Development,” he stated.
He added that the recognition bestowed on him should be shared widely.
“The honour that is being done to me today should really go back to all the staff that worked so hard to make sure that this became a reality,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, Joe Keshi, highlighted the importance of honouring excellence in diplomacy, noting that the awards celebrate dedication and service to Nigeria and the continent.
“Diplomacy is one profession where success is often invisible, reflected not by news coverage, but by maintained stability, prevented conflicts, cultivated partnerships,” he said.
Keshi noted that the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS, describing the organisation as “a bold experiment in regionalism,” and urged diplomats to adapt to evolving global challenges.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waheed Shaibu, also praised Gowon, describing him as a symbol of national unity and visionary leadership.
He said the recognition offers a chance to reflect on a legacy “defined by visionary leadership, courage, and unwavering commitment to the unity, stability, peace, and progress” of Nigeria.
Shaibu added that Gowon’s leadership reflected “patriotism, resilience, and a profound sense of duty,” while commending ARCAN for its continued contribution to diplomatic discourse and Nigeria’s global engagement.
After months of official hiatus, the Federal Government, on Tuesday finally got on the way with the trial of those fingered in the alleged plot to oust President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through a coup, including Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum.
The move, which apart from the former Governor of Bayelsa State, came with the filing of a 13-count charge before the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the alleged plotters including Mohammed Ibrahim Gana, a retired General in the Nigerian Army, Erasmus Ochegobia Victor, a retired Naval Captain, Ahmed Ibrahim, a serving police inspector, Zekeri Umoru, Bukar Goni, and Abdulkadir Sani.
Sylva, whose name surfaced as one of the plotters when the news first broke and believed to be the major financier of what would have led to another military government in Nigeria after the last ended in 1999, was listed as being at large – on the run.
The charge, filed on Monday by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), accuses the defendants of offences ranging from alleged treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and money laundering linked to terrorism financing.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants conspired in 2025 “to levy war against the state to overpower the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, an offence punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code.
The Federal Government further alleged that the defendants had prior knowledge of a planned treasonable act involving one Colonel Mohammed Alhassan Ma’aji and others, but failed to alert authorities.
Furthermore, the defendants were also accused, according to the charge, of, while “knowing that a treasonable act was intended to be committed, did not give information thereof with all reasonable despatch to either the President… or a peace officer.”
They were also accused of failing to take preventive steps and “did not use any reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence”.
Beyond treason, the defendants are facing terrorism-related charges of conspiracy under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as they “conspired with one another to commit an act of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim and Zekeri Umoru were specifically accused of attending meetings linked to the alleged plot “in a bid to further a political ideology which may seriously destabilise the constitutional structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The charge also accused the defendants of providing support for terrorism, alleging that they “knowingly and indirectly rendered support” to facilitate acts of terror.
The prosecution alleged deliberate suppression of intelligence, stating that the defendants “had information which would be of material assistance in preventing the commission of the act of terrorism but failed to disclose the information to the relevant agency as soon as practicable”.
Financially, several defendants were accused of handling funds linked to terrorism financing, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Bukar Kashim Goni allegedly “indirectly retained the aggregate sum of N50,000,000, which forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: terrorism financing”, while Abdulkadir Sani allegedly retained N2m from a similar source.
According to the charge, Zekeri Umoru “without going through a financial institution accepted a cash payment of the sum of N10,000,000″ and also retained an additional N8.8m suspected to be proceeds of terrorism financing.
Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim was also accused of taking possession of “the sum of N1,000,000, being part of proceeds of terrorism financing”.
Alleged Coup Plot, Protests
After the Federal Government cancelled the parade to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary on October 1, 2025, reports had claimed that the move was linked to an alleged coup attempt.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) dismissed the claims, however, saying the parade cancellation had nothing to do with the alleged coup attempt.
In January 2026, the DHQ confirmed that there was an attempt to overthrow President Tinubu.
The DHQ Director of Defence Information, Samaila Uba, said investigations showed some military personnel were involved in the alleged coup plot.
According to Uba, the officers have been detained and would be arraigned before military judicial panels.
Last month, families of the military officers detained over the alleged coup plot appealed to Tinubu to allow the suspects to be tried in an open court.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore protested alongside the detained officers’ families. They also asked for access to the alleged coup plotters.
From the seat of the Presidency, came what indicates a clear and open support for the camp in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) fighting David Mark, National Secretary and Rauf Aregbesola, National Secretary, respectively.
The signal came from Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu, who practically threw his weight behind Leke Abejide, one of the arrowheads wedging the war that could see the main opposition party in Nigeria not presenting a candidate for next year’s presidential election.
Against the backdrop of allegations that Aso Rock has been fuelling the various crises in the major political parties, Gbajabiamila, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and a key ally of President Bola Tinubu, all but clearly stoked the fire by egging the Kogi lawmaker on to launch a fiercer onslaught against the Mark leadership.
Urging Abejide, who had sworn that he would do everything to ensure Tinubu’s re-election not to leave the ADC, through which he won his election to the National Assembly in 2023, but to stay back and fight rather than exiting the party, the ex-Speaker praised him for his resilience so far.
Abejide, who on his own, has thrown his weight behind Nafiu Bala, former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, now laying claims to Mark’s position was one of those sacked at the convention organised by the Mark group last week.
But Gbajabiamila, who used the Kogi lawmaker’s birthday celebration on Monday to announce his support publicly, while hailing his political trajectory and resilience, including winning his election under the ADC – a relatively less-fancied platform in 2023.
His words: “For a man to contest in a place like Kogi, under a relatively unknown party, and win back-to-back elections, it tells you who that man is. You did not only secure re-election but also helped expand the party’s influence by bringing in other candidates. You’re a committed party man and a fighter.
“My charge to you is to stay in that same party. Fight them. Scatter them. Hold on to your party. Do not abandon them. We like what you are doing. Hold on to your party. Do not abandon it. Continue what you are doing. Win your election there. Nobody can take your party away from you.”
After the hammer from the Mark group, alongside Kingsley Temitope, Obinna Norman, Kennedy Odiong, and Stella Chukwuma, over the allegation of anti-party activities, Abejide dismissed his sack as null and void, coming from a “suya convention.”
Jonathan to Atiku: I don’t play God *I still achieved, though imperfect
BREAKING: FG opts for open court trial of coup plotters against Tinubu
ADC: Fight, scatter them! *Presidency goads Kogi lawmaker on Mark’s leadership
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