Analysts predict a sharp rise in petrol prices following the removal of the subsidy.
Africa News Broadcast 
Dr. Muda Yusuf, economist and CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, emphasizes the need for complementary policies to mitigate the impact of the price surge. He suggests that the government should provide official rate foreign exchange to petrol importers, facilitating cost reduction.
Kelvin Emmanuel, CEO of Dairy Hills, goes a step further, forecasting a rise to N700 per litre from the current average of N185-N200. However, he suggests that the upcoming Dangote and BUA refineries will eventually stabilise the market.
Despite the anticipated difficulties, Emmanuel deems the subsidy removal as necessary, stating that the practice of borrowing money to fund subsidies is unsustainable. However, he warns of a potential petrol scarcity in the short term, as oil marketers may hesitate to import petrol due to fear of competition with Dangote’s refinery, which is set to offer petrol at a cheaper rate.
“If the NNPC does not have enough petrol to supply Nigeria, there will be petrol scarcity because the marketers will be afraid to bring in petrol since it will take 45 days to import petrol and this could coincide with the opening of Dangote refinery which will sell petrol at a cheaper rate,†he says.
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