The price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, has climbed to N1,350 per litre in parts of Abuja following a series of increases in the gantry price by Dangote Refinery within the past week.

Checks across the Federal Capital Territory on Monday showed that several filling stations had adjusted their pump prices upward, with motorists paying between N1,280 and N1,350 per litre depending on their location and the station.

Eterna sold petrol at N1,320 per litre, while Gegu Oil and Salbas Oil sold the product at N1,310 and N1,330 respectively.

Nipco and AY Shafa stations sold petrol at N1,350 per litre, while TotalEnergies dispensed the product at N1,280 per litre.

The latest pump price increases followed successive adjustments by Dangote Refinery, which raised its gantry price from N1,165 per litre to N1,185, before further increases to N1,200 and N1,265 within one week.

The development has increased the cost of fuel for motorists and raised concerns about its wider effect on household expenses, transportation and the prices of goods.

A motorist in Gwarinpa, Olusegun Abbas, said he purchased petrol at N1,320 per litre, while another motorist, Adewale Salau, said he bought the product at N1,310 per litre at a filling station in Dutse.

Salau described the rising cost as difficult for households already struggling with higher living expenses, saying the increase in fuel prices was contributing to rising prices in the market.

He urged the Federal Government to intervene and take steps to stabilise petrol prices.

Another motorist in Kubwa, Stanley Okezie, said petrol was selling for N1,350 per litre in his area.

Okezie expressed concern that further increases in fuel prices could push food prices higher as traders pass increased transportation and operating costs on to consumers.

A development expert, Dr Aliyu Ilias, also called for urgent government intervention, warning that sustained increases in petrol prices could worsen the economic pressure on Nigerians.

Ilias urged the government to pursue measures capable of addressing the underlying factors driving the price increases and improving the affordability of petrol.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, attributed the latest pump price adjustments to the successive increases in Dangote Refinery’s gantry price.

Ukadike said marketers could not sustainably sell petrol below their replacement cost, as doing so would expose them to losses.

He, however, expressed concern over the frequency of the price adjustments, saying the constant changes were creating uncertainty for both petroleum marketers and consumers.

The latest development means motorists in some parts of the FCT are now paying significantly more for petrol than they did before the recent series of refinery price adjustments.