Since the announcement of the removal of the fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, petrol prices have continued to climb, heavily impacting inflation and transportation costs for both people and goods.

The continuous rise in petrol prices has pushed many Nigerians, already struggling with the high cost of living, into an even more difficult situation, especially with the increased cost of transportation.

Just last week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited announced new petrol prices at its filling stations, raising prices from around N850 to N998 in Lagos and N1,030 in Abuja.

This unprecedented hike has hit many Nigerians hard, particularly in the transportation sector. In Lagos, public transportation fares for buses, motorcycles (okada), and tricycles have quadrupled due to the increased fuel costs.

Daily Struggles of Commuters in Lagos
Commuters who rely on public transport to get to work are finding themselves unable to afford these services.

“Imagine spending N4,000 daily on transport while earning less than N150,000 monthly,” said Isaac Adeolu, a regular commuter traveling from Abule Egba to Victoria Island.

Adeolu, who works six days a week, stated that the rising cost of petrol has made his daily commute unsustainable.

The situation is even grimmer for Lagos residents living in shanties and uncompleted buildings in Obalende on Lagos Island. Many earn their living through roadside trading or domestic work in more affluent areas like Ikoyi, Lekki, and Falomo.

“Transport costs have increased by over 200%, and the government isn’t doing anything about it. Every day, I have to trek from Obalende to Lekki to my place of work because if I include transport fare, I’ll be left with nothing,” said Evelyn Osagi, a domestic worker who earns N65,000 monthly, a little less than the new minimum wage.

Evelyn explained that she would spend at least N30,000 a month on transport if she had to pay for the rising fares caused by the petrol price hike.

Many shanty dwellers are walking long distances to work daily because their modest incomes are no longer sufficient to cover the cost of increased transportation fares.

“We can no longer afford transport to go work,” a shanty dweller, who said she washes clothes for a living in high-class environment of Lekki, said.

The rise in petrol prices is also affecting commercial drivers, particularly those driving e-hailing vehicles.

It has become a growing trend where e-hailing drivers using platforms like Uber, In-Drive, and Bolt are now renegotiating fares with passengers directly, outside the app’s fare system.

“What can we do? The price the apps offer us can’t even buy fuel, so we have no choice but to renegotiate with our customers,” said Chukwuma Patrick, an In-Drive driver, who added that he had spent N40,000 on fuel for just two rides, barely making N25,000 in revenue. He noted that his fuel gauge was already showing red by the end of his second trip.

Before the subsidy removal, N40,000 worth of petrol would have been about 210 litres, enough to fill the tanks of three cars. Now, that same amount of fuel barely fills one car’s tank.

“Our customers understand that things are expensive now. Most of them know how much we spend on petrol daily, so when we renegotiate the price, they don’t really complain,” said Idris, an Uber driver, who mentioned that passengers now expect to pay more than the app’s listed fare due to the drivers’ struggles.

No Respite in Sight for Commuters
Despite the high cost of petrol and skyrocketing transportation fares, there appears to be no immediate relief for commuters. Energy expert Tolu Ajisafe believes that the removal of the subsidy, combined with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stepping back from its role as the middleman between Dangote Refinery and domestic marketers, will lead to further price hikes.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the end of these price increases. The federal government seems uninterested in regulating prices anymore. NNPC is burdened with debts and foreign obligations and isn’t willing to absorb the cost,” said Ajisafe.

Ajisafe suggested that the current price of petrol is still somewhat subsidized by the government and warned that further devaluation of the naira could push petrol prices even higher. “If the exchange rate fluctuates again, petrol prices will increase. The idea that petrol is less than a dollar per litre won’t hold for long.”

For many Nigerians, the new reality of a “subsidy is gone” regime is becoming increasingly hard to bear, and they are bracing for more inflationary pressures as the situation worsens.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has announced the arrest of a Thailand returnee, Oguejiofor Nnaemeka Simon Peter, for importing 13.30kg of heroin, worth over N3.192 billion, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.


NDLEA also stated that its operatives at three seaports intercepted large consignments of opioids with a combined monetary value N22.7 billion.

This was made known in a statement on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.


The statement disclosed that Oguejiofor was arrested on Monday 7th October 2024 while attempting to smuggle illicit drug out of the airport.

The substances were concealed in six backpacks and then packed into two big suitcases.

According to the statement, the 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State, had left Thailand on 3rd October 2024 on a Qatar Airways flight and stopped over in Doha, Qatar, where he spent two days before heading to Lagos while his luggage was routed to Accra, Ghana, his original destination.


Narrating how Oguejiofor was arrested, the statement said that NDLEA officers intercepted him at the point of exit after the suspect had contacted the airline to reroute his luggage to Nigeria so that he can pick them up as rush bags in a bid to beat security checks.

The statement further explained that a search of the suspect’s two suitcases revealed three empty backpacks in each box with a large parcel of heroin neatly sewn to all the six backpacks, adding that the six parcels were subsequently recovered with a gross weight of 13.30kg.

In his statement, Oguejiofor claimed he was hired for a fee of $7,000 upon successful delivery of the parcels. He said he was to deliver two parcels in Lagos and the other four parcels in Accra, Ghana.

In a related development, NDLEA has announced that a total of 32,607,900 pills of tramadol worth over N12.5 billion and 1,451,994 bottles of codeine-based syrup with a street value of N10.1 billion were intercepted at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Seaport in Lagos and Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State.


The anti-narcotic agency stated that the combined monetary value of the seized opioids is about N22.7 billion.

The illicit consignments were seized from containers watch-listed by NDLEA based on intelligence and processed for 100 percent joint examination with men of the Nigeria Customs and other security agencies at the three seaports between Monday 7th and Friday 11th October 2024.

In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Anambra on Saturday 12th October 2024 arrested a suspect, Okelue Chidera, 29, with 50,000 tablets of tramadol 200mg at Upper Iweka, Onitsha.


Also, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis transit and loading point at Aviose, Owan West LGA, where 70 bags of the psychoactive substance weighing 1,050kg were recovered, while a suspect, Monday Akele, 38, was arrested on Friday 11th October 2024 in another raid at Owan Village, Ovia North East LGA where 110kg of same substance was seized

The management of Air Peace has stated that its Chief Executive Officer, Allen Onyema, remains innocent in the series of charges levelled against him by the United States Department of Justice.

The airline noted that while the case involving its CEO and the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, is still in court, such will not affect its daily operations, according to a statement signed by the airline’s management on Sunday and posted on its X handle.

The statement, titled, “Reassurance regarding recent US DOJ report,” noted that the charges levelled against the duo are “part of an extended legal process stemming from earlier accusations of financial misdeeds that date back several years.

“While the charges have been expanded, it is essential to emphasise that both Dr Onyema and Mrs Eghagha remain innocent and these are mere allegations, and the case is still in court.”


The airline asserted that its legal team is currently on top of the matter, as it’s confident that, “through due process, the truth will be revealed, and our CEO and co-defendant will be exonerated.”

It also assured the public that “these legal proceedings will not affect the safety, reliability or the day-to-day operations of Air Peace.”

In a superseding indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia accused Onyema and Eghagha of submitting false documents in a bid to thwart a federal investigation into their activities.

The duo have been under scrutiny since 2019 for alleged money laundering. The Air Peace CEO is accused of moving over $20 million from Nigeria through US bank accounts using fraudulent documents under the guise of purchasing aeroplanes.

Eghagha is also facing charges of aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.