Nigerians Speak on Increase in Transportation Fare After Dangote Crashed Price
- Nigerians have lamented that transportation providers have not reduced fares nationwide
- This is in the face of the decline in petroleum prices by Dangote refinery from N970 to N899.50 per litre
- NACCIMA President outlined dollar factor and other major detrminant of the state of the economy
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Despite the drop in gas prices, Nigerians have bemoaned the fact that transportation companies have not lowered fares across the country.
Source: Getty Images
Instead, these irate Nigerians said, prices continue to rise.
On December 19, 2024, the Dangote refinery lowered the ex-depot price of its gasoline from N970 to N899.50 per litre.
The downstream industry saw fierce pricing rivalry as a result, and the NNPCL was forced to lower its ex-depot price to N899 per liter.
To the delight of Nigerians, the refinery also announced that it would partner with MRS Petrol station to offer petrol from its retail outlets countrywide for N935 per litre.
Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Industries Limited, has explained that the complicated dynamics of market forces were the main cause of the recent drop in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also referred to as gasoline, to N899.50 per litre at its loading gantry.
Although the price of gasoline has decreased, Nigerians have bemoaned the fact that transporters have not adjusted their fares to reflect the shift.
Evie Lucky told Legit.ng,
“We keep blaming the government for bad economic decisions whereas we are the problem. How is it that transportation cost is yet to decline despite fuel price dip?”
Chigozie Phillip said,
“I think the government needs to step in regarding this transportation fee because motorists are exploiting passengers. They have refused to bring down the price despite that petrol price has gone down.”
How NACCIMA reacts
Dele Oye, President of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, however stated that the dollar was the main factor, The Punch reported.
“The main thing that affects all the prices is the dollar. The dollar is affecting power, it is affecting everything in our lives. Because we are a demand economy,” Oye said.
The fact that Nigeria is not a supply economy is another important aspect, he claims.
“We are not a supply economy. A demand economy means most of the things you use are goods from outside Nigeria. If we were a supply economy, it would be that most of the things we can produce, like Turkey, which is a supply economy,” he said.
According to the head of NACCIMMA, Nigeria's production capacity is insufficient to meet 30% of its needs.
“Our production capacity is not even 30 per cent of our needs. So that’s why everything, all the vehicles on the road, imagine all of them, 99 per cent are imported,” Oye stated.
He insisted that giving the private sector access to single-digit capital is the only way for Nigeria's economy to expand.
“Once they have those single digits, it will increase production and people will be able to buy the goods. Import substitution,” he advised.
Transport companies increase fares
Legit.ng reported that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys between cities was N7,117.17 per drop in July 2024.
This represented a 20.23% decline in transport costs compared to the average N5,919.49 recorded in July 2023.
When comparing July's average fare to N7,092.03 paid in June 2024, the cost of transportation from one state to another increased by 0.35% month over month.
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Source: Legit.ng
