President Bola Tinubu has commiserated with traders and people of Kano State over the devastating fire outbreak at Kano’s Singer Market over the weekend.

The fire, which started on Saturday evening, raged into Sunday morning, causing significant damage to the food market.

President Tinubu, who had earlier reached out to Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to obtain a situation report on the fire, described the incident as tragic.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Sunday, said the President was particularly alarmed that the latest incident came less than two weeks after another fire destroyed dozens of shops and property at the same market.

He said President Tinubu directed a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the market fires, which often leave traders in despair.

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Nigeria’s domestic fuel supply rose 25 per cent in January 2026 as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery delivered an average of 40 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day, according to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

This marked an increase of about eight million litres daily from December 2025’s 32 million litres, highlighting the refinery’s steady ramp-up toward meeting more of the nation’s fuel needs amid ongoing imports.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery delivered an average of 40.1 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day.

The growth in output comes as the refinery moves closer to its stated goal of covering a larger share of national fuel demand, while imports continue to complement domestic supply.

The NMDPRA report shows that Nigeria’s domestic supply benchmark for PMS stands at 75 million litres per day, with the Dangote Refinery now contributing over 40 million litres daily.

Average PMS consumption in January 2026 stood at 60.2 million litres per day.

Imports from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other marketers averaged 24.8 million litres daily.

Overall, total PMS supply into the domestic market averaged 64.9 million litres per day.

The regulator noted that consumption figures are based on volumes trucked out into the domestic market, serving as the key metric for measuring effective fuel distribution.

The data underlines the refinery’s growing role in meeting national demand.

The refinery has reached its full designed capacity, marking what the company describes as a historic milestone and making it the first refinery globally to achieve full nameplate capacity in a single train of that scale.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos, is designed as a 650,000 barrels-per-day single-train facility, making it the largest of its kind in the world.

The refinery has been under phased ramp-up since its commissioning, with the goal of reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported PMS.

In December 2025, the refinery projected it could supply up to 50 million litres of PMS daily between December 2025 and January 2026.

Management has optimised its Crude Distillation Unit and Motor Spirit production block, stabilising steady-state operations.

A 72-hour performance test run is underway with technology licensor UOP to validate operational efficiency and confirm compliance with global standards.

The refinery’s capacity milestones are considered a key factor in strengthening Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

Recall that billionaire investor Femi Otedola recently projected the naira could strengthen to below N1,000 per dollar before year-end, citing reduced import demand and the refinery’s operational milestone.

The refinery’s latest production figures indicate Nigeria is moving closer to achieving its domestic supply targets.

NMDPRA earlier reported that Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption surged to 63.7 million litres per day (ml/d) in December 2025.

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Nigeria has stepped up ahead of Egypt as Africa’s second-largest importer as solar energy and battery storage provide a practical and affordable alternative to diesel generators and unreliable grid power.

The gradual removal of diesel subsidies in Nigeria in the past two years also has helped accelerate adoption of solar energy. The policy was implemented sector by sector to cushion its impact, making diesel increasingly expensive and nudging businesses and households toward solar.

Last September, Nigeria announced plans for a 1 GW solar panel factory, the largest in West Africa. Similar facilities are under construction in Egypt, South Africa and Ethiopia.

Historically, South Africa dominated solar imports in Africa, at one point accounting for roughly half of all panels shipped to the continent. The latest data show its share has slipped below a third as demand surged elsewhere. Last year, 20 African nations set new annual records for solar imports, as 25 countries imported a total of at least 100 megawatts of capacity, according to report by the Africa Solar Industry Association.

In Algeria, solar imports soared more than 30-fold year-on-year. Imports also surged in Zambia and Botswana.

At least 23 African countries, including South Africa, Tunisia, Kenya, Chad and the Central African Republic, are now generating over 5 per cent of their electricity from solar energy, the report said.

Prices have fallen both for solar panels and batteries, mostly from China, enabling households and businesses to rely on solar plus batteries for round-the-clock electricity, the report said. Battery storage costs in Africa fell to $112 per kilowatt-hour in 2025 from an average of $144 per kilowatt-hour in 2023 as improved technology made storage systems more flexible and longer lasting.

Africa was the world’s fastest-growing solar market in 2025, defying a global slowdown and reshaping where the momentum in renewable energy is concentrated, according to the report.

The continent’s solar installed capacity expanded 17 per cent in 2025, boosted by imports of Chinese-made solar panels. Global solar power capacity rose 23 per cent in 2025 to 618 GW, slowing from a 44 per cent increase in 2024.

“Chinese companies are the main drivers in Africa’s green transition,” said Cynthia Angweya-Muhati, acting CEO of the Kenya Renewable Energy Association. “They are aggressively investing in and building robust supply chains in Africa green energy ecosystem.”

Some of that capacity has yet to be rolled out. Africa has only 23.4 gigawatts peak (GWp) of working solar capacity even though nearly 64 GWp of solar equipment has been shipped to the continent since 2017. A gigawatt peak represents 1 billion watts of maximum, optimum power output under ideal conditions.

“Africa’s growth is driven by changing policies and enabling conditions in a number of countries, “said John Van Zuylen, CEO of the Africa Solar Industry Association.

“Solar energy has moved beyond a handful of early adopters to become a broader continental priority,” he said recently on the sidelines of the Inter Solar Africa summit in Nairobi. “What we are seeing is not temporary. It is policies aligning with market dynamics.”

“This ever-decreasing price of storage has game-changing implications for Africa, which has a dire need for stable and baseload power,” said Van Zuyken.

As Africa moves to build its own manufacturing capacity, the industry is looking to China to transfer knowhow to help alleviate Africa’s dependence on imported equipment and technology.

“The solar jobs boom is occurring in services including installation, maintenance, distribution and financing, where thousands of small and medium enterprises are emerging to meet rising demand,” Van Zuylen said.

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