Some MRS filling stations in Lagos on Tuesday dropped the price of petrol to N739 per litre, triggering long queues of vehicles seeking to buy the commodity at the outlets.

Our correspondent, who visited parts of Lagos and Ogun states, observed that the MRS filling station in Alapere recorded a large turnout of buyers, many of whom boycotted other outlets selling petrol above N800 per litre.

However, it was observed that MRS filling stations along the Mowe/Ibafo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway in Ogun State retained their prices at about N875 per litre as of Tuesday evening.

Following the reduction of petrol gantry price from N828 to N699 per litre on Friday, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had vowed to enforce a new pump price regime of N739 per litre.

Dangote said on Sunday that he was aware that, despite lower gantry prices, some filling stations often chose to retain high pump prices, thereby undermining his efforts. According to him, MRS would commence the sale of petrol at N739 per litre from Tuesday, while other partners would follow.

“I was told that the marketers have met with (some officials) and were told to make sure that the price is maintained high. But this price we are going to introduce, we are going to start with MRS stations, most likely on Tuesday in Lagos; that N970 per litre, you won’t see it again. We have also asked members of IPMAN to come now. We have asked anybody who can buy 10 trucks to come and buy 10 trucks at N699.

“We are going to use whatever resources we have to make sure that we crash the price down. For this December and January, we don’t want people to sell petrol for more than N740 nationwide. Those who want to keep the price high to sabotage the government, we will fight as much as we can to make sure that these prices are down. If you have money to come and buy, you can pick up petrol at N699,” he said.

It was confirmed on Tuesday that the N739-per-litre price had been kick-started by MRS in Lagos. Our correspondent observed that other filling stations sold PMS at prices ranging between N850 and N890 per litre on Tuesday.

Reacting, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, stated that PETROAN strongly condemned the announcement or pronouncement of petroleum product prices by any individual, corporate body, or agency, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to Dangote.

According to him, the new price cut allegedly contravenes the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, which he said clearly stipulates that petroleum product prices in the downstream sector should be determined by market forces and competitive commercial engagement.

“PETROAN strongly condemns the announcement or pronouncement of petroleum product prices by any individual, corporate body, or agency. This, PETROAN emphasises, is contrary to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which clearly directs that petroleum product prices in the downstream sector should be determined by market forces and competitive commercial engagement. Section 205(1) of the PIA specifically states that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products shall be based on unrestricted free market conditions, subject only to limited regulatory oversight and protection against monopolistic practices,” he stated.

The PETROAN boss said the “current dirty price war is already causing collateral damage to all parties involved.” According to him, most of the “aggressive price crashes appear designed to frustrate importers and are often executed below cost”.

Consequently, he said, “all parties in the price war may be operating at a loss in a bid to gain market dominance, a development PETROAN considers unsustainable and harmful to the long-term stability of the downstream sector.”

He further warned that prolonged conflict among key stakeholders could expose the sector to risks of market monopolisation, reduced competition, and heightened operational uncertainty for retail outlet owners, with increased pressure on consumers through unstable pricing regimes and wider adverse implications for the economy.

The association stressed that only constructive negotiation and fair commercial engagement could encourage importers who favour international markets to patronise local refineries, cautioning against what it described as compelling or brutal price-ambushing strategies that undermine market confidence and distort fair competition.

Independent marketers told The PUNCH that they could lose up to N80bn as a result of Dangote’s new price cut. Findings by The PUNCH showed that petrol importers were on the verge of losing as much as N102.48bn monthly following the Dangote refinery’s reduction of its gantry price from N828 per litre to N699.

At the same time, the refinery is projected to lose about N91bn in a month as a direct consequence of the price cut, underscoring the intensity of the competition reshaping Nigeria’s downstream oil market.