Nigeria Runs Short of Fuel Before National Cost-of-Living Protests

Nigeria is running short of fuel ahead of nationwide demonstrations over the country’s cost-of-living crisis that are scheduled to begin Thursday.

Fuel shortages have spread in the nation’s commercial hub of Lagos as well its capital of Abuja, with state-owned oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum saying the tightness in supply and distribution is due to a “hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels” that carry fuel to land from larger sea-faring tankers.

The shortages come amid calls for daily nationwide protests over the high cost of food and fuel, which are expected to begin August 1. Organisers — taking a cue from deadly clashes between the police and protesters in Kenya last month — have demanded that the government reinstates fuel subsidies that President Bola Tinubu partially lifted after taking office in May last year, among other demands.

Inflation in Africa’s most-populous nation, where 40% of its more than 200 million people live in extreme poverty, was near a three-decade high in June, driven by high food and fuel costs.

To cushion against the effects of rapid price growth, Tinubu has more than doubled the monthly minimum wage to 70 000 naira ($40) from 30 000 naira, distributed grains and a halted tariffs on food imports for six months.

©2024 Bloomberg