ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal Government has capped the price of aviation fuel and introduced a 30-day credit window for airlines, according to a directive from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) issued on Monday, April 27, 2026.
Okay News reports that the intervention followed emergency meetings between regulators, fuel marketers and airline operators after warnings that soaring jet fuel costs could trigger flight cuts and wider sector disruptions. The move comes days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a 30 percent relief on debts owed by airlines to aviation agencies.
Under the new framework, jet fuel in Lagos will be sold within a capped range of N1,760 to N1,988 per litre, while in Abuja the price band is set at N1,809 to N2,037 per litre. Suppliers are also required to offer airlines a 30-day credit period for fuel purchases.
The NMDPRA directed marketers and carriers to agree on a “fair” fuel price and recommended direct sales from depots to airlines within the benchmark bands to cut costs and improve supply-chain transparency. The technical committee also urged the inclusion of jet fuel in the naira-for-crude initiative to reduce airlines’ foreign exchange exposure, and called for talks with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery over premiums linked to international benchmark pricing.
The price action follows sustained pressure in the aviation sector: operators had warned that jet fuel costs had surged by more than 270 percent, forcing fare hikes and threatening service cuts. Global geopolitical tensions — particularly the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of global energy shipments pass — have pushed international pricing benchmarks higher, feeding into local landing costs despite domestic sourcing.
