A litre of petrol in Nigeria costs 21,667 times what it did the year Gowon took power. This is who was in charge each time it moved.
Tap a band to read that government's record
Nominal naira, no inflation adjustment: the official pump price went from 6 kobo a litre in 1966 to 1,300 Naira today — a compound rise of +18.1% every year for sixty years.
Each band in the chart above is one government: the price it inherited on the left, the price it left behind on the right.
₦197 → ₦1,300 +560%
price multiple across 7 governments and 29 years
price multiple across 7 governments and 31 years
| Head of government | Tenure | Yrs | From | To | Change | Per year | Share of climb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Yakubu Gowon ↗ Military | 1966–1975 | 9 | 6 Kobo | 8 Kobo | +41% | +3.2% | 3% | |
| General Murtala Muhammed ↗ Military | 1975–1976 | 1 | 8 Kobo | 9 Kobo | +7% | +12.5% | 1% | |
| Major General Olusegun Obasanjo ↗ Military | 1976–1979 | 3 | 9 Kobo | 15 Kobo | +70% | +18.6% | 5% | |
| Alhaji Shehu Shagari ↗ Civilian | 1979–1983 | 4 | 15 Kobo | 20 Kobo | +31% | +7.5% | 3% | |
| General Mohammadu Buhari ↗ Military | 1983–1985 | 2 | 20 Kobo | 20 Kobo | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| General Ibrahim Babangida ↗ Military | 1985–1993 | 8 | 20 Kobo | 70 Kobo | +250% | +17.0% | 13% | |
| Ernest Shonekan ↗ Civilian · highest rise | 1993 | 0.4 | 70 Kobo | 5 Naira | +614% | +13536% | 20% | |
| General Sanni Abacha ↗ Military | 1993–1998 | 5 | 5 Naira | 11 Naira | +120% | +17.1% | 8% | |
| General Abdusalami Abubakar ↗ Military | 1998–1999 | 1 | 11 Naira | 20 Naira | +82% | +81.8% | 6% | |
| President Olusegun Obasanjo ↗ Civilian | 1999–2007 | 8 | 20 Naira | 75 Naira | +275% | +18.0% | 13% | |
| President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua ↗ Civilian · only fall | 2007–2010 | 3 | 75 Naira | 65 Naira | -13% | -4.7% | -1% | |
| President Goodluck Jonathan ↗ Civilian | 2010–2015 | 5 | 65 Naira | 87 Naira | +35% | +6.0% | 3% | |
| President Mohammadu Buhari ↗ Civilian | 2015–2023 | 8 | 87 Naira | 197 Naira | +113% | +10.8% | 8% | |
| President Bola Tinubu ↗ Civilian | 2023–date | 3 | 197 Naira | 1,300 Naira | +560% | +87.6% | 19% |
The chart steps at each handover: entry price to exit price. The log scale keeps the kobo years legible next to the naira years.
Rebuilt from the Fuel Dashboard workbook — official pump prices in nominal naira, not inflation-adjusted.
Every presidency links to its full record in The Republic's government archive.