The price of petrol has remained high even as crude oil prices crashed to $73 per barrel on Wednesday, their lowest level since the US-Iran conflict began in February.

According to Oilprice.com, crude oil fell from $76.75 per barrel on Tuesday to $73.50 on Wednesday, extending the decline in oil prices since the United States and Iran signed a peace deal.

However, petrol prices have yet to drop in line with the latest crude oil rates. As of Wednesday, many filling stations were still selling petrol at about N1,205 per litre, a price many consumers said does not reflect current global oil prices.

Following the drop in crude oil prices from a high of about $120 per barrel during the United States-Iran conflict to around $73 after a peace deal was reached on June 14, many Nigerians expected petrol prices to fall below N1,000 per litre. That expectation has yet to materialise.

Recently, the Dangote refinery reduced its petrol gantry price by N75 per litre, from N1,250 to N1,175, prompting importers to also adjust their prices downward.

PUNCH recalls that the Dangote refinery increased its gantry price from N774 to N874 per litre when the Middle East crisis started. This came as crude oil prices rose to $84 per barrel from below $70 in the days leading up to the airstrikes involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other countries. Filling stations had earlier raised petrol prices from about N830 to over N1,300 per litre during the crisis.

With crude now trading at $73.69 per barrel, stakeholders expect petrol prices to fall below the current level of over N1,200 per litre.

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria called on refiners, depot owners, and petroleum product importers to reduce their ex-depot and retail pump prices in line with the decline in international crude oil prices.

The National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the drop in global crude oil prices presents an opportunity for operators in the downstream petroleum sector to pass on the benefits of lower crude costs to consumers.

In a statement signed by the National Public Relations Officer of PETROAN, Dr Joseph Obele, on Friday, Gillis-Harry said market realities should be reflected in both ex-depot and retail pump prices.

“The recent decline in global crude oil prices presents an opportunity for stakeholders in the downstream petroleum sector to pass the benefits of lower crude oil costs to Nigerian consumers. Market realities should be reflected in both ex-depot and retail pump prices in the interest of fairness and economic relief for the public,” Gillis-Harry said.

Gillis-Harry also expressed concern over pricing trends in the domestic market, saying, “In some instances, the landing cost of imported petroleum products appears to be lower than the prices offered by domestic refiners. This development is surprising and underscores the need for a more competitive downstream petroleum market that guarantees consumers access to the most affordable products available.”

However, a Dangote refinery official told our correspondent that no importer was selling petrol below the refinery’s current rates. The official, who pleaded anonymity, said the refinery was still processing relatively expensive crude purchased during the crisis.

It appears importers are waiting for the Dangote refinery to take the lead before lowering their prices further.

Oil prices surged during the conflict as tensions threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, prices have declined in recent days as traders grew optimistic that the US-Iran agreement would help keep the strategic waterway open, alongside reports of a slight increase in shipping traffic.

According to CNN, traders are still monitoring whether traffic continues to flow smoothly through the strait and whether tensions remain contained across the Middle East.

On Tuesday, President of the United States, Donald Trump, said a record 19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. According to Trump, oil prices are tumbling as a result of the oil flow through Hormuz.

“19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Hormuz Strait yesterday, an all-time record. Oil prices are tumbling down, and the world is a much safer place,” Trump said in a post on his social media handles.

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Nigeria’s largest lenders spent more than N119bn on information technology, software, and related digital infrastructure in the first three months of 2026, indicating the growing importance of technology investments as banks deepen digital transformation efforts.

An analysis of the first-quarter financial statements of four tier-one lenders—Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Access Bank Plc—by The PUNCH showed that their combined spending on technology rose to about N119.03bn in the period ended March 31, 2026, from N83.15bn in the corresponding period of 2025.

The increase of N35.88bn represents a 43.2 per cent year-on-year rise in technology spending, reflecting growing investments in software, digital banking platforms, cybersecurity, IT support services, and other technology infrastructure.

The spending pattern, however, varied across the lenders, with Zenith Bank emerging as the biggest spender, UBA recording the fastest growth in technology expenditure, while Access Bank was the only lender to report a decline.

GTCO, a prominent multinational financial services group headquartered in Victoria Island, Lagos, recorded total technology-related spending of approximately N16.4bn during the first quarter of 2026.

According to its financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2026, the Group, which includes GTBank Nigeria and other subsidiaries, recorded N8.50bn under “technological and service-related expenses” during the three-month period.

In addition, GTCO invested N7.89bn in purchasing software classified as additions to intangible assets, compared with N4.68bn spent on software acquisitions in the corresponding period of 2025.

Combined, the bank’s operational and capital technology expenditure amounted to N16.40bn, representing an increase of about 24.3 per cent from an estimated N13.19bn spent in the first quarter of 2025. The software investment alone rose by 68.6 per cent year-on-year.

Zenith Bank Plc, a multinational financial services institution and one of Nigeria’s largest banks by tier-one capital, spent N43.83bn on technology in the first quarter, making it the highest spender among the four lenders reviewed.

The bank’s unaudited interim financial statements showed that technology spending rose sharply from N21.93bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, representing an increase of almost 100 per cent.

The first-quarter spending accounted for nearly half of the N91.92bn Zenith spent on technology throughout 2025, suggesting an acceleration in digital investments this year.

United Bank for Africa Group, the leading sub-Saharan African bank with more than 45 million customers, over 20,000 employees, and about 1,000 branches across 20 African countries, recorded the fastest increase in technology expenditure among the lenders.

The bank’s interim unaudited consolidated financial statements showed that IT support and related expenses rose to N22.07bn in the first quarter of 2026 from N6.18bn in the same period last year.

The increase of N15.89bn represents a year-on-year growth of approximately 257 per cent, more than tripling the bank’s technology spending over the period.

Access Bank Plc, the largest bank in Nigeria and Africa’s leading financial institution by customer base, with more than 60 million customers across three continents, spent N36.73bn on IT and e-business expenses during the first quarter of 2026.

However, unlike its peers, Access Bank recorded a decline in technology spending. The bank’s unaudited consolidated and separate financial statements showed that IT and e-business expenses fell from N41.85bn in the corresponding period of 2025.

The decline of about N5.11bn translates to a 12.2 per cent reduction year-on-year, making Access Bank the only one among the four lenders to report lower technology spending during the review period.

Despite the decline recorded by Access Bank, the broader trend among Nigeria’s largest banks points to increased technology investments as lenders strengthen digital capabilities, automate operations, improve cybersecurity systems, and enhance customer experience through digital channels.

The Co-founder of Recital Finance, Bobola Ojo-Ami, told The PUNCH that the scale of these investments should not come as a surprise. “Nigeria’s financial ecosystem is processing far more digital transactions today than it did last year and a few years ago, with electronic payment volumes and digital banking revenues continuing to grow year after year.

“Banks are responding to a structural shift in customer behaviour, where about 90 per cent of retail banking transactions are now completed through digital channels rather than inside banking halls,” the executive stated.

He said that beyond traditional banking, the broader financial ecosystem was expanding, driven by growth in digital payments, the return of international card transactions, the rollout of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System National Payment Stack, new payment infrastructure, increasing cross-border African trade, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, and deeper participation in capital markets, all of which pointed to a more connected and transaction-intensive economy.

According to him, these developments, taken together, explained why sustained investment in technology infrastructure was essential. The executive noted that as transaction volumes, customer expectations, payment complexity, and operational demands such as reconciliation, settlement, and compliance continued to rise, sustained investment in digital infrastructure remained central to growth, resilience, security, and competitiveness.

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