For residents and business owners in Kano, the latest petrol price increase has pushed transport fares higher on both local and interstate routes. Some small business operators also say increased fuel expenses are cutting into their earnings, leaving them with little choice but to adjust their charges.
Amid the growing pressure on household budgets, the development has once again sparked calls for a review of the Federal Government’s position on fuel subsidy, particularly as transportation and other living costs continue to rise.
While the government maintains that the downstream petroleum sector is fully deregulated and that petrol prices can no longer be fixed by the state, opposition figures have continued to call for measures that would provide immediate relief to households facing increased costs.
Kano commuters face higher fares
A survey across parts of Kano found that transport fares on several interstate and local routes have increased, with some journeys now costing about N1,000 more than previously.
Commercial transport operators say the rising cost of petrol has made it increasingly difficult to maintain their businesses, particularly as passenger patronage has not necessarily increased alongside their operating expenses.
Abu Sadiq, a commercial tricycle rider, said the problem goes beyond the price of fuel itself.
“We buy fuel at N1,440, at other fuel stations at N1,470, and even after that, you don’t always get passengers,” he said.
For operators such as Sadiq, higher fuel costs mean more money is required simply to keep their vehicles on the road, while low passenger patronage makes it harder to recover daily expenses.
The pressure is also being felt by interstate passengers.
The survey found that fares on several routes have risen by about N1,000. A journey from Kano to Bauchi now costs about N11,000, while passengers travelling from Kano to Mararaba in Abuja pay around N11,000.
The Kaduna-Kano route now costs about N7,000, while Saminaka to Bauchi is also about N7,000. Kaduna to Bauchi costs approximately N15,000, while passengers travelling from Maiduguri to Bauchi pay around N12,000.
Other routes have also recorded significant increases, with Bauchi to Wukari in Taraba costing about N14,000, Bauchi to Jalingo N17,000 and Kano to Hadejia in Jigawa N9,000.
The increases have added to the financial pressure on passengers who depend on commercial transportation for work, business, education and other daily activities.
Small businesses also under pressure
The impact of higher petrol prices extends beyond transportation.
In Mariri, Kano, a tomato grinding operator popularly known as Maman Ramadan said rising fuel costs had forced her to increase her charges.
According to her, the cost of powering the grinding machine has made it difficult to maintain her previous prices.
She said she now charges a minimum of N150 for grinding tomatoes.
“People will complain that it’s just a small quantity of tomatoes, but it’s fuel we use,” she said.
“Sometimes, I even buy fuel from black market sellers, and at the end of the day, I don’t make the kind of profit I used to.”
Despite the pressure created by fuel costs, the survey found that the prices of some everyday cooking ingredients, including seasoning cubes, salt, flour and other basic food items, had remained largely unchanged in some local shops around Mariri.
However, the relative stability in the prices of some items does not shield consumers and businesses from the wider effect of rising transportation and energy costs.
‘Fuel price increases affect the entire economy’
An Associate Professor at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, M. I. Aminu, said the impact of higher petrol prices could spread throughout the economy because transportation is central to the movement of people and goods.
Speaking exclusively to DAILY POST, Aminu explained that rising transport costs generally place upward pressure on inflation because farmers, traders, manufacturers and consumers all depend on transportation.
“When fuel becomes more expensive, transport operators face higher operating costs and may increase fares. But the effect does not stop with passengers,” he said.
According to him, farmers, wholesalers and retailers also incur higher costs when transporting food and other goods from production areas to markets.
Those additional expenses, he explained, are eventually reflected in the prices consumers pay.
The economist noted that the issue is particularly significant in Nigeria because of the country’s heavy reliance on road transportation.
A rise in petrol prices can therefore translate into higher freight charges, which then filter through the supply chain and increase the cost of goods.
Low-income households bear the heaviest burden
Aminu said there was no single petrol price increase that could automatically be described as the point at which low-income households would be unable to cope.
Rather, he argued that the more important issue was whether household incomes were increasing at a pace comparable to the rising cost of living.
“For low-income households, the impact becomes particularly severe when higher fuel and transport costs reduce their ability to afford basic necessities such as food, housing and energy,” he said.
He said the central concern was therefore the loss of purchasing power rather than the pump price alone.
“In essence, the danger point is not simply a particular fuel price. It is the point at which the increase substantially reduces the household’s real purchasing power and forces families to cut back on essential consumption,” he said.
Aminu added that the effects of expensive petrol were not restricted to motorists or transport users.
Farmers need transportation to move produce from farms, traders depend on it to move goods to markets, while manufacturers rely on transportation for raw materials and the distribution of finished products.
As a result, higher transportation costs can spread through virtually every stage of production and distribution before ultimately being passed on to consumers.
Don advocates targeted support
To cushion the impact on vulnerable Nigerians, Aminu recommended targeted government intervention rather than relying solely on efforts to control the pump price.
He called for targeted cash transfers and other social protection programmes for vulnerable households, alongside improvements in mass public transportation.
He also advocated greater investment in roads, rail and logistics infrastructure to reduce the cost of moving people and goods.
“Government can provide targeted cash transfers and other social protection to vulnerable households, improve mass public transportation, and invest in roads, rail and logistics infrastructure to reduce the cost of moving goods and people,” he said.
Beyond immediate relief, Aminu urged the government to tackle the structural factors contributing to inflation and high operating costs.
He identified high logistics costs, energy constraints, exchange-rate pressures and low productivity among the broader challenges requiring attention.
According to him, government policy should combine immediate support for vulnerable households with longer-term measures designed to reduce the cost of production, transportation and distribution.
“The objective should be to protect vulnerable households while reducing the structural costs that drive prices upward,” he said.
Aminu further argued that controlling the price of petrol alone would not resolve the broader economic problems associated with transportation.
“In a nutshell, fuel-price increases do not affect only motorists; they equally affect the entire economy because transportation is embedded in the production and distribution of almost everything we consume,” he said.
“The appropriate policy response, therefore, is not simply to control the pump price, but to protect vulnerable households while simultaneously reducing the underlying cost of moving people and goods.”
Subsidy debate refuses to go away
The economic pressure has also kept the debate over fuel subsidy alive.
President Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration in 2023, ushering in a new phase in which petrol prices have been determined by market forces.
The Federal Government has repeatedly maintained that the downstream petroleum sector is fully deregulated and that it no longer has the power to directly determine pump prices.
Recently, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, reiterated that position during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“The Bola Tinubu government doesn’t have any power to reduce or increase the price of petrol. It is completely deregulated in line with global best standards,” he said.
Lokpobiri also rejected arguments that locally refined petrol should automatically be sold at substantially lower prices, pointing out that crude oil is traded at international market prices.
The subsidy question has increasingly become part of the political debate ahead of the 2027 general election.
African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has proposed replacing petrol import subsidies with a production-focused subsidy aimed at making locally refined petrol cheaper, reducing transportation costs and easing pressure on the cost of living.
He has also cited an SBM Intelligence survey which reportedly found that 67.4 per cent of respondents supported restoring fuel subsidy.
President Tinubu, however, has ruled out a return to the subsidy regime. His administration has instead promoted Compressed Natural Gas and electric-powered public transportation as alternative ways of reducing transport costs.
For commuters and small businesses in Kano, however, the policy debate remains closely tied to a more immediate question: how to keep moving, trading and earning as the cost of fuel continues to shape the price of everyday life.