Business
Queues return To Lagos, Abuja After Tinubu’s Petrol subsidy Removal Speech
Shortly after President Bola Tinubu announced the cancellation of petrol subsidy, queues for the product have resurfaced in parts of the country.
Tinubu made the pronouncement in his inaugural speech on Monday.
“On fuel subsidy, unfortunately, the budget before I assumed office is that no provision is there for fuel subsidy. So fuel subsidy is gone,” the president had said.
Soon after, it was observed that some filling stations visited in Lagos and Abuja were closed while others that dispensed petrol had large queues of cars and people, lining up to fill their tanks and kegs.
At BlocOil filling station, Satellite Town, Lagos, customers were seen waiting their turn to buy the product.
Similarly, at a branch of TotalEnergies in Alakija, a larger crowd was seen, with the queues already spreading to the road as of the time of filing this report.
Also, Peridot filling station, at Festac link road, housed vehicles whose owners wanted to fill their tanks.
On the other hand, Mobil, MRS, and Techno oil filling stations in Festac Town, on 23 Road, 22 Road, and 1st Avenue, respectively; were closed.
In Abuja, a branch of Nipco filling station located on Kada Road, and Mobil filling station in Mabushi, vehicular queues stretched onto the roads, in efforts to buy petrol.
The situation was grimmer in Ogun state as it was observed that from Arepo to Mowe, only three, out of over 20 functioning filling stations, were willing to sell the commodity.
At Asharami, Satellite filling stations in Ibafo and Mowe, long queues were seen.
A resident who preferred anonymity that most filling stations decided to stop selling when they were informed of Tinubu’s speech on petrol subsidy removal.
“Some of the fuel stations only heard about the subsidy removal and just stopped selling,” the resident said.
“They could have at least waited for the new president to fully resume work before acting.”
Here are some photos of the situation as captured at the filling stations visited.
Nigeria’s public debt rose by 48.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to N144.67 trillion ($94.23 billion) in 2024 from N97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in 2023.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed this in its latest public debt profile report.
The debt stock consists of external debt of N70.29 trillion ($45.78 billion) serviced with $4.66 million and domestic debt of N74.38 trillion ($48.44 billion).
The report showed that the country’s external debt increased by 83.89 per cent YoY from N38.22 trillion ($42.5 billion) in 2023.
Domestic debt also grew by 25.7 per cent YoY from N59.12 trillion ($65.73 billion) in 2023.
The report further indicated that the Federal Government’s domestic debt component rose by 32 per cent YoY to N70.41 trillion from N53.26 trillion in 2023.
But the domestic debt of states and the Federal Capital Territory declined YoY by 32 per cent to N3.97 trillion in 2024 from N5.86 trillion in 2023.
The rise in public debt can be attributed to fluctuating trends in exchange rates amidst changes in global economic conditions.
The sharp increase, particularly in external debt, highlights the nation’s vulnerability to exchange rate volatility and changes in global economic conditions.
With the continued depreciation of the naira, the cost of servicing foreign debt could escalate, adding pressure on the country’s financial resources.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced the appointment of a new eight -man Senior Management Team.
The appointment followed the recent announcement followed the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Board of Directors.
Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said the appointments all take immediate effect.
“Following the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has announced the appointment of a new 8-man Senior Management Team on Friday,” he stated.
“The team which will be headed by the GCEO, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has Rowland Ewubare as Group Chief Operating Officer; Adedapo Segun as Group Chief Financial Officer; and Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President Gas, Power & New Energy.
“Other members of the team are: Udy Ntia as Executive Vice President Upstream; Mumuni Dangazau as Executive Vice President Downstream; Sophia Mbakwe as Executive Vice President Business Services; and Adesua Dozie, as Company Secretary & Chief Legal Officer. All appointments are with immediate effect.”
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-generaI of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says the recent tariffs announced by the United States (US) will have significant implications for global trade and economic growth prospects.
On April 2, President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on all imports into the US, imposing 14 percent on Nigeria.
In a statement on Thursday, Okonjo-Iweala said the WTO secretariat is closely monitoring and analysing the measures announced by the nation.
The WTO DG said many members have “reached out to us”, adding that the secretariat is actively engaging with them in response to their questions about the potential effect on their economies and the global trading system.
“The recent announcements will have substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects,” the economist said.
“While the situation is rapidly evolving, our initial estimates suggest that these measures, coupled with those introduced since the beginning of the year, could lead to an overall contraction of around 1% in global merchandise trade volumes this year, representing a downward revision of nearly four percentage points from previous projections.”
Okonjo-Iweala expressed concern over the decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that could lead to further declines in trade.
“It is important to remember that, despite these new measures, the vast majority of global trade still flows under the WTO’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) terms,” she said.
“Our estimates now indicate that this share currently stands at 74%, down from around 80% at the beginning of the year. WTO members must stand together to safeguard these gains.”
According to the WTO DG, trade measures of this size have the potential to create significant trade diversion effects.
Therefore, she called on members to “manage the resulting pressures responsibly to prevent trade tensions from proliferating”.
“The WTO was established to serve precisely in moments like this — as a platform for dialogue, to prevent trade conflicts from escalating, and to support an open and predictable trading environment,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She encouraged members to utilise the forum to engage constructively and seek cooperative solutions.