As Oil Prices Increase in the International Market, Nigerians Should Benefit, Not Spend More to Buy Petrol.

PRESS STATEMENT

The US-Israel war on Iran has pushed the price of crude oil up. This means that Nigeria, as an oil-producing country, should ordinarily gain from the crisis. However, the Nigerian masses are finding it increasingly difficult to survive at this time. This is because, within a week, the price of petrol, on which many other sectors depend, has increased from ₦839 to about ₦1,300, representing a hike of over 50%.

We in the Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) condemn the astronomical increase in fuel prices. There is no justification why, in Nigeria (Africa’s largest oil producer), the ruling elites would subject the people to hardship and suffering because of a war in faraway Middle East. This situation exposes the anti-people nature of the corrupt capitalist policies that successive governments and the Tinubu government has continued to implement. The implementation of neoliberal policies dictated by the IMF and the World Bank which prioritise deregulation, privatisation, and profit for big businesses, has left the masses of the country living in penury despite the country being blessed with abundant natural resources.

These dictated capitalist policies are responsible for the non-functionality of the country’s four refineries despite repeated “turnaround maintenance,” which has gulped billions of dollars under several regimes. The continued dependence on the importation of petroleum products and reliance on the private Dangote refinery are clear indications that the Nigerian government is more interested in protecting profits for a few individuals rather than ensuring the collective wealth of the country benefits all. The fact that the government is not concerned about the challenges faced by working people, and has not taken any meaningful steps to cushion the effects of the price hike, is a clear sign that the ruling elites do not care about the welfare of ordinary Nigerian people.

If the capitalist elites were affected by this crisis, the government would have quickly rolled out bailout programmes to protect their wealth and businesses. This is how capitalist regimes operate everywhere; profits are protected while the masses are forced to bear the burden of every crisis. The working masses must understand this reality and be prepared to challenge a system that prioritises the interests of a tiny wealthy elite over the needs of the majority.

At the same time, we call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to challenge this rotten system and stand firmly on the side of ordinary Nigerian workers who are being forced to pay more at a time when the cost of living is already unbearably high. The NLC and TUC must mobilise workers, youth and the poor working people against this unjust attack and demand democratic workers control  of fully functional and government owned refineries.

The current 2026 national budget is anchored on a crude oil benchmark of $65 per barrel. As prices rise above $100 per barrel, Nigerians would expect that the additional revenue should benefit the population. However, the reverse is the case. Instead, more people are being pushed into poverty as the rising cost of transportation leads to further increases in the prices of goods and essential commodities.

The current crisis confronting the Nigerian masses is the cumulative result of the neoliberal policies pursued by past and present governments. It is therefore necessary for the working masses to organise and struggle against this unjust system. Ironically, while the ruling elites stand to benefit from the rise in crude oil prices, the working people continue to suffer. Within just one week of the US-Israel attack on Iran, Nigerians have already witnessed the price of petrol increase three different times with threats of further increase looming, which further worsening the living conditions of the masses.

For this reason, the working masses must organise, resist, and struggle for a system that places the wealth and resources of society under democratic public ownership and control for the benefit of all, not just a privileged few.

We in the Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) call on the general working people; workers, youths, students, and the poor, to join us in demanding the following:

• Immediate reversal of the latest petrol price hike and restoration of fuel prices to a level that ordinary Nigerians can afford. Working people should not be made to suffer because of global crises and the anti-people policies of the government.
• Immediate rehabilitation and full operation of the four government-owned refineries under democratic public ownership and workers’ control. This is necessary to end the continued dependence on fuel importation and the dominance of private monopoly interests in the sector.
• Public ownership and democratic control of the entire oil and gas sector, including the Dangote refinery, so that Nigeria’s vast oil wealth can be used for the benefit of the majority of the population rather than enriching a handful of wealthy individuals.
• Immediate wage increase and a cost-of-living adjustment for workers, including the implementation of a new national minimum wage that truly reflects the current cost of living and rising inflation facing Nigerian workers and their families.
• Mass mobilisation by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), including protests and strike actions, to resist fuel price hikes and all anti-poor neoliberal policies of the Tinubu government. The labour movement must lead a united struggle of workers, youths, and the oppressed against these unjust attacks.

Signed

Aj. Dagga Tolar

General Secretary, MSA