By: Reuters

Caleb Ojobo is in front of his home, washing down his ageing truck before another gruelling day of work. The 30-year-old driver, who has spent three years ferrying building materials across Nigeria's capital, is bracing for a day where fuel costs will consume most of his earnings.

But fuel prices are not his only frustration. Like many Nigerians, he feels betrayed by promises of change that never materialized.

After arriving at a loading site, Ojobo watches as workers load planks of wood onto his truck, mentally calculating whether the day's earnings will be worth the fuel spent.

At 1,410 naira per litre, the 4,000 naira he will spend on fuel will buy him less than 3 litres, just enough to reach his destination, with almost nothing left over.

"Maybe you charge (bill) work now for maybe 8,000 (naira) (6 USD) and 3 litres of fuel is what will take you there, you are buying fuel at the rate of 1,430 (naira), how much will remain?" Ojobo said as he steered his truck toward a petrol station in the city.

For Ojobo, who lives in Sabon Lugbe, a shanty-town along Abuja's airport road, filling his tank has become an impossible luxury. Instead, he buys fuel in small amounts, only when a job comes in.

"We used to make better profit compared to now," said Ojobo. "Most of what we do now is you come, you work, you buy fuel and the remaining is little money you will use for your expenses."

A sharp rise in petrol prices in the past month is driving up transport costs across Nigeria, renewing cost-of-living pressure on President Bola Tinubu's government ahead of the 2027 election.

Pump prices rose to about 1,400 naira  ($1.05) a litre in Lagos and Abuja this month from roughly 1,200 (0.9 USD) naira a month earlier, Reuters checks showed, while some stations in northern Nigeria charged as much as 1,500 naira (1.12 USD).

The increase followed Dangote Refinery's decision to lift its wholesale loading-bay, or gantry, price to 1,350 naira per litre, reflecting higher crude costs and the continued exposure of fuel prices to global market swings despite expanded domestic refining.

Nigeria's annual inflation rate eased to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July, but food inflation remained high at 19.57%, official data showed.

The latest price rise revives debate over Tinubu's May 2023 removal of the petrol subsidy, a reform praised by investors but blamed by critics for worsening a cost-of-living crisis that has eroded household purchasing power.

Ahead of the 2027 election, opposition politicians have made fuel prices a central test of the government's economic record.

The downstream petroleum regulator said retail prices were determined by market forces under the Petroleum Industry Act, while acknowledging pressure on households and businesses.

Camera: Abraham Achirga & Sanni kazeem. Editing: Angela Ukomadu & Sanni kazeem: Production: Angela Ukomadu. Writing: Angela Ukomadu / Isaac Anyaogu.