Economy
Panic as queues surface in Abuja
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* Depots reportedly hike price to N710/litre
By Francesca Hangeior.
Fresh queues for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, surfaced in Abuja, parts of Niger and Nasarawa States on Friday, following the closure of many filling stations operated by independent marketers.
According to reports, dealers closed their retail outlets due to their inability to access petrol as a result of the hike in the ex-depot price of the commodity to N710/litre by private depot owners.
Motorists besieged the few stations that dispensed petrol on Friday, particularly those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and some major oil marketers in Abuja and neighbouring states.
This led to massive queues in outlets, such as the NNPC mega station on the Gwarimpa axis of the Zuba-Kubwa Expressway, Conoil and Total filling stations directly opposite the headquarters of NNPC in the Abuja city centre, and Salbas filling station at the Dei-Dei end of the Zuba-Kubwa expressway, among others.
Independent oil marketers, who own over 70 per cent of filling stations across the country, blamed the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol as dispensed by private depot owners.
The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, said that private depot owners had raised the ex-depot price of PMS to N710/litre, whereas the pump price of the commodity at NNPC retail stations was N617/litre.
Maigandi said, “The current situation is a result of how the private depot owners have been selling their products. It has been very difficult for independent petroleum marketers to get the product and sell it in Abuja and neighbouring states, as well as in other states in the North.
“So, the queues you are seeing now are because of the cost of PMS by private depots. The private depots are selling at N710/litre, but if you check the price of the same product at NNPC retail outlets, it is N617/litre.
“Therefore, by the time the independent marketers buy from private depots and bring it to our filling stations, we will not be able to sell our product because our cost price is already so high, while the cost at NNPC retail outlets is far lower.
“And you know that when we buy it at the rate of N710/litre, we have to add transportation cost again because there is no equalisation. And when we add the cost of transportation, the pump price is going to be higher than the N710/litre ex-depot price, whereas NNPC stations sell at N617/litre.”
Maigandi explained that because of the widespread number of stations operated by IPMAN, any distortion in the supply of products to members of the group would lead to fuel queues because major marketers and NNPC stations were fewer in number.
On whether IPMAN members cannot get direct PMS supply from NNPC, instead of buying the product from private depots, he replied, “That is what we have been negotiating with them (NNPC), and they promised us that they will start giving us our allocation.
“They have started, but the quantity is small compared to the number of retail outlets operated by IPMAN nationwide. We are getting products from NNPC, but the volume is too small for our members.
“So, we are requesting additional volumes because, in Abuja alone, we have over 250 retail outlets belonging to IPMAN members. This is just for Abuja. We have not talked about Niger, Kaduna, and other states in the North, not to mention the number nationwide.”
Maigandi, however, stated that the queues for petrol were not pronounced in remote villages, adding that “when you go to the villages, you will see that there are no queues.”.
“But in the city centres, where you have NNPC stations selling very cheaper than the N710/litre price, you will see queues there, as well as in front of the few outlets that have products to dispense.”
The IPMAN president said petrol was not scarce, as there were enough volumes in-country concerning what was imported by NNPC – Nigeria’s sole importer of the commodity.
The Black Market Dollar-to-Naira Exchange Rate for 29th August 2026 Can Be Accessed Below.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The exchange rate changes hourly. It depends on the volume of dollars available and the Demand. This means…you can buy or sell 1 dollar at a certain rate, and the price can change (high or low) within hours.
READ ALSO:Aston Villa Sign Jackson From Chelsea
The official naira black market exchange rate in Nigeria today, including the Black Market rates, Bureau De Change (BDC), and CBN rates.
The exchange rate fluctuates hourly based on the supply and demand of dollars in the market.
What’s the dollar to naira black market today, 29th August 2026?
The exchange rate for a dollar to naira at Lagos Parallel Market (Black Market) players sell a dollar for ₦1407 and buy at ₦1395 on Saturday, 29th August, 2026, according to sources at Bureau De Change (BDC).
Please note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognize the parallel market (black market), as it has directed individuals who want to engage in Forex to approach their respective banks.
Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate Today
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) Black Market Exchange Rate Today
Selling Rate ₦1407
Buying Rate ₦1395
Dollar to Naira CBN Rate Today
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) CBN Rate Today
Highest Rate ₦1339
Lowest Rate ₦1335
American multinational technology company Meta has agreed to pay up to $18bn over the next decade to settle lawsuits brought by nearly all US states over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children.
The agreement, announced on Wednesday, brings an end to a federal trial in which states accused Meta of harming young users and misleading the public about the safety of its platforms.
Under the settlement, Meta will introduce stricter limits on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram. Teenagers will generally be limited to two hours of use each day, while access between midnight and 06:00 will be blocked unless parents give permission.
The company will also disable most push notifications to teenagers during school hours and strengthen measures designed to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content.
However, Meta will not be required to abandon personalised recommendations or targeted advertising.
The company denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement, saying that ensuring teenagers have a safe and productive experience on its platforms is a priority.
Meta is expected to make maximum payments of about $16.7bn to 47 states, Washington DC and several US territories. California could receive about $2.2bn, while New York could receive around $1.1bn.
Another $459m will be paid to resolve state privacy claims connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, involving the unauthorised collection of data from millions of Facebook users.
The settlement also includes about $5bn in additional payments that could be made if Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube introduce similar protections for children.
The agreement could have wider consequences for the social media industry, as governments and regulators around the world face growing pressure to protect children from harmful online content and excessive social media use.
Thousands of other lawsuits remain against social media companies, with individuals, schools and government bodies accusing platforms of contributing to a youth mental health crisis involving anxiety, depression and suicide.
Meta has faced several recent legal setbacks over the safety of its platforms. Earlier this month, a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $567m and introduce additional youth safety measures.
In March, a Los Angeles jury also found Meta and Google negligent in designing their platforms and ordered the companies to pay $6m to a woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child.
Meta and Google have said they will appeal those verdicts.
Not every US state accepted the latest settlement. New Mexico and Florida are continuing their legal battles against Meta.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier criticised the agreement, saying the payments were insignificant compared with the harm he alleges Meta’s platforms have caused children.
The settlement was approved by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who had overseen the federal trial.
The agreement represents one of the largest efforts yet by US authorities to force a major social media company to change how its platforms operate for young users.
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, will begin charging businesses for certain messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026.
The company announced the pricing change in a WhatsApp Business Platform update published in July 2026.
Under the new system, businesses will pay about N14 per service or qualifying utility message sent through the platform.
The charges will apply to companies using the official WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer conversations on a large scale.
Banks, fintechs, e-commerce companies, telecoms operators, logistics firms and large retailers that use the platform for customer service and transaction-related communication are among those that will be affected.
However, the new charges will not affect ordinary WhatsApp users or most small businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app on their phones.
Currently, when a customer sends a message to a business, a 24-hour customer service window opens. During this period, businesses can respond with free-form service messages and certain utility messages without paying Meta.
From October 1, however, Meta will charge businesses on a per-message basis for service messages sent during the customer service window.
Meta said in its developer documentation, “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for all service messages, consistent with how Meta charges for template messages. These messages have not been charged since November 1, 2024.”
The company added, “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for utility messages sent in response to users (within an open 24-hour customer service window). These messages have not been charged since July 1, 2025.”
Utility messages include payment confirmations, order updates and delivery notifications.
Meta also warned businesses and Solution Providers to add a payment method before the new charges take effect.
It said, “For any Solution Provider or directly-integrated businesses that does not have a payment method on file by September 30, 2026, Meta will stop delivering service messages as of when they become charged on October 1, 2026.”
For Nigerian businesses, a chargeable utility or service message is expected to cost about $0.0101, equivalent to roughly N14 based on an exchange rate of about N1,340 to the dollar.
Marketing messages will cost more, at about $0.062 per message, or approximately N84 using the same exchange rate.
The charges are Meta’s fees and do not necessarily represent the total amount a business will pay. Companies using Business Solution Providers or third-party platforms to access the WhatsApp Business Platform may also face additional charges.
For instance, a Nigerian fintech sending 500,000 chargeable utility or service messages at $0.0101 per message would pay about $5,050 in Meta messaging fees alone.
At an exchange rate of N1,340 to the dollar, this amounts to approximately N6.8 million, excluding additional provider charges.
Although the cost per message is relatively small, the charges could significantly increase operating costs for businesses that send hundreds of thousands or millions of messages each month.
WhatsApp has become an important communication channel for Nigerian businesses, with banks and fintechs using it for customer support and transaction-related communication.
E-commerce, logistics and retail companies also use the platform for order updates, delivery notifications and other customer interactions.
The new pricing is part of Meta’s broader changes to WhatsApp Business, with the company gradually moving business messaging towards a per-message pricing model.
From October 1, previously free service messages and qualifying utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer service window will become chargeable on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
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