By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Nigerian filling stations have increased the pump price of premium motor spirit after Dangote Refinery and depot owners adjusted ex-depot prices upward.
Daily Post correspondents gathered that Empire Energy and Ranoil filling stations in Gwarimpa and other parts of Abuja have hiked their petrol pump price.
Empire Energy and Ranoil filling stations increased their pump price to N935 and N970 per litre, respectively, as of Saturday morning from N905 and N900 on Friday night.
In an exclusive interview, spokesman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike said the latest petrol price hike was due to an ex-depot price increase by Dangote Refinery and depot owners in Nigeria.
“The supplying depots and Dangote Refinery have increased their ex-depot petrol prices.”
“As of Friday pricing, Dangote Refinery’s ex-depot price is N858 per litre, up from N820. Depot owners also increased prices like NIPCO (N870), Aiteo (N855) and Ranoil (N855),” he told Daily Post on Saturday.
He said the ex-depot price hike is due to the exchange rate and the price of crude oil in the global oil market.
Meanwhile, Nigerian National Petroleum Company and MRS, Optima, and AP Ardova filling stations still dispense petrol at N890 and N885 per litre, respectively, in Abuja as of the time of filing this report.
Daily Post reports that Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell to $69.67 and $67.33 as of Saturday morning, according to oilprice.com.