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Abuja, FCT – By Prime Brief Media

The spike in global crude oil prices caused by escalating hostilities in the Middle East is delivering a complex and painful shock to Nigeria’s economy, simultaneously boosting potential government revenue while driving up the cost of imported refined petrol at home.

As fighting in the Gulf intensifies, Brent crude has surged to around $117 per barrel. While this theoretically expands the fiscal windfall for Africa’s largest oil producer, the immediate domestic effect has been a sharp rise in the pump price of petrol. Monitoring by Prime Brief Media shows that NNPC Retail stations in several parts of Abuja are now selling petrol at approximately N1,364 per litre, up from N960 just weeks ago. Independent marketers are charging even more.

Analysts note that because Nigeria’s refineries remain largely non-operational, the country must import almost all its refined petroleum, paying international prices plus freight and other charges. The removal of the long-standing fuel subsidy means that global price volatility is instantly transmitted to consumers.

“The current situation exemplifies Nigeria’s oil paradox,” said Dr. Adedayo Bakare, an energy economist at Nile University. “We gain on the fiscal side from higher crude exports, but we lose heavily on the domestic consumption side because we are price takers for gasoline. The net effect is often negative for the average household because the government’s additional revenue is rarely redistributed in a timely or efficient manner.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has not issued a detailed price template, but filling station attendants confirmed the new prices, which vary slightly by location. Motorists in the Federal Capital Territory expressed frustration, as transport fares have already started to climb. “The price changed overnight. We need the government to do something to cushion this,” a commercial driver in Wuse told Prime Brief Media.

Economists caution that unless the government can convert the oil windfall into targeted social interventions and accelerated domestic refining, the economy will continue to absorb shocks from distant conflicts.

Prime Brief Media will report on further economic indicators and official responses as they become available.

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