Daily Trust Editorial, Tuesday June 2, 2026
As a consequence of the ongoing war between the US/Israel and Iran, the prices of petroleum products have been rising noticeably in the country over the past few months.
Before the war, the pump price of the popular Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) sold for between N825 and N955 per litre at filling stations.
Following the outbreak of the war, coupled with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of global oil shipments pass, and the additional war-risk insurance costs, global oil prices surged sharply. In Nigeria, fuel prices spiked by up to 50 per cent, fluctuating between N1,200 and N1,365 per litre and, in some cases, reaching N1,500 per litre.
Aviation fuel prices also rose to between N1,500 and N1,800 per litre.
As expected, this has had a knock-on effect across various sectors of the Nigerian economy. Transportation costs, which are immediately linked to the fuel supply chain, have risen significantly by as much as 50 per cent. This is unsurprising, given that the movement of goods, provision of services and daily commuting in the country depend largely on the transport sector. Consequently, the increase has manifested in higher food, healthcare and consumer prices across the country.
According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate stands at 15.69 per cent, “driven by fuel price shocks and rising food costs,” as stated in the bureau’s April 2026 inflation report.
As the war does not appear to be abating, despite concerted international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between the protagonists, all indications suggest that economies around the world will continue to suffer the consequences of the conflict.
In bracing for the effects of rising fuel prices, many countries have taken unprecedented measures to provide much-needed relief to their citizens. In Germany, for instance, the government has placed caps on sudden and arbitrary fuel price increases by filling stations without official approval. In South Korea, in addition to similar measures, rebates on transportation and food items, among other interventions, have been introduced to help citizens cope with the inflationary effects of rising fuel prices.
Even in Africa, countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia and Namibia have been implementing various emergency measures to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices. These measures include tax suspensions, fuel subsidies, price controls, transportation support programmes and food subsidies.
In Nigeria, although the government has acknowledged the rise in fuel prices, there are, as yet, no concrete measures being implemented to lessen the burden on the people. Paradoxically, Nigeria is one of the world’s major oil and gas producers and exporters and stands to be among the net beneficiaries of rising international oil prices. Before the US/Israel-Iran war, global oil traded at about $74 per barrel. With prices surging to about $100 per barrel for Brent crude, which is similar in quality to Nigeria’s crude, and between $110 and $120 per barrel on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark, Nigeria should ordinarily be experiencing a boom in oil revenues. Furthermore, given that the current national budget was benchmarked at $62 per barrel, the country is reportedly enjoying a revenue increase of up to 40 per cent since the war began.
Yet, despite this favourable revenue situation, the Nigerian government has not rolled out comprehensive measures to ease the burden on citizens. Nigerians have been left to cope with the harsh effects of rising fuel prices largely on their own, without any meaningful intervention from the government. This contrasts sharply with what governments, including those of less-endowed African countries and others around the world, are doing under similar circumstances.
Accordingly, we at the Daily Trust call on the government to take cognisance of the fact that even before the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, Nigerians were already grappling with the consequences of government economic policies. This has led to growing calls for a review of those policies or, at the very least, the introduction of measures to cushion their effects.
We believe that, under the current circumstances, where many Nigerians have been further burdened by the ripple effects of the war in the Middle East, leading to greater hardship, urgent government intervention is both timely and imperative. Considering the fact that the government is now benefiting from increased revenues arising from the Middle East conflict, there can be no justification for delaying or rejecting calls to cushion the hardships being experienced by Nigerians as a result of rising fuel prices.
We believe this is an obligation that the government owes the Nigerian people and one that falls squarely within its primary constitutional responsibilities.
