Business

Kerosene Hits Over N800/Litre, Nigerians Face Hard Times

Published

3 years ago

August 3, 2022

The price of kerosene used by several families have jumped to N800 per litre just as the market is beginning to adjust to the newly increased petrol and gas prices.

Market survey by The PUNCH on Tuesday showed that one litre of cooking kerosene, sold for N700 last week, now sells for between N800 and N850 in urban parts of Lagos State, while the price has hit as high as N1000 per litre in suburb areas at filling stations.

In Ghana, the price of a litre of cooking kerosene currently sells for GHS 12.044 (N585) per litre.

Unlike petrol, kerosene is a deregulated product- meaning prices are determined by market forces.

“It’s a deregulated market. It is also a function of the dollar to naira rate and the crude price at the international market. Since cooking kerosene is deregulated, prices can go up, it can also come down,” National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi told The PUNCH.

As of June, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, had reported an 88 per cent rise in prices of cooking kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas within in one year.

According to the NBS report on “National Household Kerosene Price Watch,” the price of cooking kerosene went up by 86.94 per cent in one year.

The report also said that the average retail price per litre of household kerosene, HHK, paid by consumers in May 2022 increased by 15.21 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N589.82 in April 2022 to N679.54 in May 2022.

The state profile analysis showed that the highest average price per litre in May 2022 was recorded in Enugu with N868.75, followed by Ebonyi with N861.11 and Imo with N801.67. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa with N558.06, followed by Yobe with N601.39, and Nasarawa with N603.33.

In addition, the South-East recorded the highest average retail price per litre of household kerosene with N773.09, followed by the South-West with N738.19, and the North-Central with N668.78, while the North-East reported the lowest with N632.06.

An energy expert, Bala Zakka, while speaking in an exclusive chat with our correspondent, attributed the sharp increase in the price of the 19 Suspects Arrested In Possession Of Illegally Refined Fuel to Nigeria’s continued inability to refine petroleum products for local consumption.

Business

CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines

Published

22 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has rolled out fresh guidelines for agent banking, known as Point of Sales, across the country.

The apex also in the guidelines pegged daily POS transactions at N1.2 million per agent and N100,000 per individual.

CBN disclosed this in a circular signed by its Director of the Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh.

The guidelines further mandate all financial institutions to publish the list of all their POS agents on their website and to display it in their branches.

CBN noted that the guidelines would take effect from April 1, 2026.

“The Guidelines aim to establish minimum standards for operating agent banking in Nigeria, enhancing agent banking to provide financial services and promoting financial inclusion, encouraging responsible market conduct and improving service quality in agent banking operations.

“This circular takes effect from the date of release, while the implementation of agent location and agent exclusivity shall be in effect from April 1, 2026.

“POS agents are restricted to a maximum of N1.2 million per day. Individual customers are limited to N100,000 in daily transactions.

“These limits are intended to curb misuse, enhance financial integrity, and protect consumers within the agent banking framework,” it stated.

Business

Naira Records First Appreciation Against US Dollar At Official Market

Published

22 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded appreciation on Wednesday against the United States dollar at the official market, the first time in three days this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate data showed that the Naira strengthened to N 1,470.62 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,471.09 traded on Tuesday.

This means that the country’s currency firmed up slightly by N0.47 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

Monday and Tuesday, the Naira recorded negative sentiment at the official foreign exchange market.

However, at the black market, the Naira remained unchanged at N1,500 per dollar on Wednesday, the same rate exchanged on Tuesday.

The apex bank data indicated that the country’s external reserves, a determinant of the exchange rates, stood at $42.57 billion as of October 7, 2025.

Business

SEC Warns Nigerians Of AfriQuantumX Ponzi scheme

Published

23 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named AfriQuatum, with a claimed worth of N76 billion, as a Ponzi scheme.

The regulator also urged the public to be cautious about investing with the firm.

SEC disclosed this in a recent statement.

According to the SEC, any person who places an investment or engages with the entity does so at his or her own risk, adding that its operations exhibit characteristics commonly associated with fraudulent Ponzi schemes.

“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of AfriQuantumX, which holds itself out as an investment platform trading on and selling cryptocurrency and stocks to investors in Nigeria.

“The Commission hereby informs the public that AfriQuantumX is not registered by the Commission either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any capacity within the Nigerian capital market,” SEC stated.