April fool or real fooling?
Fuel stations are adding extra zeros to petrol prices
Good morning, Big Brains. I hope you’re enjoying your public holiday. If you aren’t, do something fun today so I can live vicariously through you.
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Fuel stations are adding extra zeros to petrol prices
Trump wants to do a third term
The Big Deal
Fuel stations are adding extra zeros to petrol prices
We don’t know what’s worse – the rising cost of fuel or President Tinubu gaslighting us into thinking this suffering is necessary. Both things can pass as bad April fool pranks, except they are real and permanent cases of fooling.
So, on March 21, petrol prices jumped from ₦860 to ₦930 per litre in Lagos State. At the same time, some stations also started selling as high as ₦970 in Abuja and northern cities. Just last week, it was ₦880. Now, consumers are paying at least ₦70 to ₦90 more per litre, and there’s no guarantee that this is the last increase.
This sudden hike didn’t just pop out of nowhere. Like many of our current problems, it all started when President Tinubu removed fuel subsidies in May 2023. Before that, Nigerians were paying around ₦200 per litre, but once the subsidy was gone, prices shot up overnight, and we’ve been playing catch-up ever since. We got big promises that local refining, particularly the Dangote Refinery, would stabilise prices eventually, but over a year later, that promise still looks as shaky as ever.
The most recent price increase is tied to the Dangote Refinery's temporary decision to stop selling fuel in naira. The company says it was buying crude oil in dollars and selling petrol in naira but couldn’t keep up because the exchange rate was making it unsustainable. It claims it’ll return to naira sales once the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) supplies it with crude in naira.
Ironically, just a few weeks ago, Nigerians had a brief moment of hope when Dangote and NNPCL got into a price war— In February, Dangote slashed the ex-depot price of petrol from ₦890 to ₦825 per litre, forcing NNPCL to lower its own prices from ₦945 to ₦860. At the time, it seemed like their competition might finally work in our favour but now, with Dangote temporarily switching to dollar transactions and the naira supply deal with NNPCL expiring in March, we’re right back where we started.
Why is this a big deal?
At first glance, this might seem like just another fuel price increase, but it is different because it exposes deeper problems: the country’s broken fuel market and the falling value of the naira.
Let’s start with the fuel market problem. When Tinubu removed fuel subsidies in May 2023, we were told that Nigeria had much to gain. But over a year later, we’ve seen the worst price hikes and zero benefits. That’s mainly because the government’s fuel company, NNPCL, still controls most of the supply, and private companies like Dangote don’t have as much power as we hoped. The moment Dangote stopped selling fuel in naira, prices shot up, proving that we’re still at the mercy of a few big players and not a free market where competition helps consumers.
Then there’s the naira problem. Since fuel companies buy crude oil in dollars, a weak naira means they must spend more. Dangote Refinery, for example, stopped selling in naira because it was losing money due to the exchange rate. This means that as long as the naira keeps falling, petrol prices will keep rising regardless of where it’s coming from.
Finally, there’s the everyday impact on Nigerians. Fuel affects almost everything—transportation, food prices, electricity, and business costs. Most people and businesses rely on generators because of Nigeria’s unreliable electricity supply. If petrol reaches ₦1,000 per litre ( we’ve been there and done that, sadly), transportation will become more expensive, food prices will rise, businesses will struggle, and more people will fall into poverty.
This is about an economy that’s not working, no matter how much the government tries to convince Nigerians otherwise.
Trump wants to do a third term
A wise man once said, “Good things come in three”. Even though none of us could have guessed it, President Trump’s latest action proves that he seems to buy that idea.
On Sunday, March 30, Trump made his most direct statement yet about seeking a third term as president of the United States. And no, it’s not a prank because he clearly told NBC News, “I’m not joking,” hinting that there are “methods” to make it happen.
While Trump has flirted with the idea before, these latest comments feel different—not just because he said them, but because they come at a time when he’s already reshaping the government in ways that were once unthinkable.
Now, the idea of extending his presidency is slowly moving from random yaps to something some of his supporters are actively considering.
The math, of course, is not in his favour. Changing the U.S. Constitution isn’t as easy as sending out a tweet. It requires two-thirds approval from both houses of Congress or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the states, something no president in U.S. history has successfully pulled off.
But Trump has never been one to let legal roadblocks get in the way of his ambitions. When NBC pressed him on how he could pull it off, he vaguely mentioned “plans” that had been presented to him, with one idea involving Vice President JD Vance running in 2028, only to step down and let Trump reclaim power. While this sounds more like a political thriller plot than a legitimate strategy, the fact that Trump openly discusses it is very telling.
Republican lawmakers have already begun laying the groundwork for these conversations. In January, just days after Trump took office, Representative Andy Ogles introduced a resolution to amend the Constitution to allow three terms. It’s a long shot, but it signals that some in Trump’s camp are willing to test the waters.
For now, nothing is permanent yet. We just hope our own T isn’t getting any funny ideas.
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