* Opposition reject measure
By Hosea Parah
The Federal Government will offer a cost-price discount on petrol through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited) stations, giving first choice to public transport drivers, for the next 30 days.
This was even as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Obidient Movement have condemned the measure.
Similarly, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the Federal Government’s proposal.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing on petrol prices and subsidy-related issues in Abuja.
Oyedele said the measure was designed as a margin discount at NNPC stations and was not a return to petrol subsidy.
“We are offering a discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC Limited for the next 30 days in the first instance with priority for public transporters nationwide. So, it’s not a subsidy; the government is just saying we sell to you at cost,” he said.
The minister said the government was also negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 per litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol in an effort to reduce sharp fluctuations in pump prices.
Under the proposed arrangement, refiners and importers would absorb any shortfall when costs rise above the ceiling and recover it when crude prices or the exchange rate become more favourable.
Oyedele said the ceiling would be reviewed monthly and the figures published for transparency.
The government is also pursuing other measures to ease the impact of higher fuel prices, including increased cash transfers to vulnerable households, subsidised credit for small businesses and consumers, and a faster rollout of compressed natural gas vehicles.
The minister said the Federal Government had already granted a full waiver of taxes and duties on petrol, which he said was worth more than N3.3tn for the year up to September 30, 2026.
Oyedele stressed that the measures being introduced were not intended to restore a blanket fuel subsidy.
“To be perfectly clear, none of these measures restores a blanket subsidy. To do so would amount to creating longer term harm for a short-term cure. Each measure is designed to reach the people who need help, without putting the wider economy at risk,” he said
The announcement comes as petrol prices at NNPC stations vary across the country. NNPC’s latest reported price list puts the pump price at N1,355 per litre in Lagos and Rivers, while Abuja is listed at N1,370 per litre.
In their reaction, NDC and the Obidient Movement described the measure as “tokenism,” an “election year Greek gift” and an attempt to reintroduce subsidy through the backdoor.
The Obidient Movement, in a statement by its Director of Media and Communications, Onyeka Dike, questioned why the government had waited three years before introducing measures to reduce the burden of high petrol prices on Nigerians.
“For three years, Tinubu told Nigerians that the ‘baby steps of pain’ were necessary. Now, suddenly, a petrol discount is possible. So, what changed?” Dike asked.
He questioned whether the government’s decision was linked to the 2027 presidential election, asking, “Did subsidy suddenly become good because Peter Obi said he would restore it? Why the desperation as elections approach?”
Dike described the policy as an election-season strategy, arguing that Nigerians had endured high fuel prices, increased taxes, rising tuition and food costs since the removal of subsidy.
“The pains were never necessary. They were policy choices,” he said.
The Obidient Movement urged Nigerians not to be swayed by the temporary relief, arguing that the country needed affordable fuel, food and education on a sustained basis rather than short-term measures introduced ahead of an election.
“Three years of suffering cannot be erased by 30 days of petrol discount,” Dike said.
Similarly, the NDC described the Federal Government’s announcement as “tokenism and a Greek gift from a government that whimsically removed fuel subsidy without proper consideration, consultation, or cushions for Nigerians.”
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the policy could not address the economic consequences of the subsidy removal, including job losses and the collapse of businesses.
“Nigerians cannot be deceived,” he said.
Director also questioned the practicality of limiting the discounted petrol to designated NNPC retail outlets, asking how many such stations could adequately serve more than 200 million Nigerians.
He warned that the arrangement could lead to congestion and stampedes at filling stations.
The NDC further accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of attempting to reintroduce petrol subsidy through the backdoor.
“The attempt to reintroduce petrol subsidy through the backdoor is not only mischievous but a sign of a government in free fall, ready to clutch at anything to survive,” Director said.
The Federal Government had earlier explained that the 30-day measure was part of a broader package of interventions aimed at cushioning the effect of high fuel prices.
Oyedele said the government was also negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 per litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol to reduce sharp fluctuations in pump prices.
Under the proposed arrangement, refiners and importers would absorb any shortfall when costs rise above the ceiling and recover it when crude oil prices or the exchange rate become more favourable.
The minister said the ceiling would be reviewed monthly, with the figures published for transparency.
The government is also pursuing increased cash transfers to vulnerable households, subsidised credit for small businesses and consumers, and a faster rollout of compressed natural gas vehicles.
Oyedele said the Federal Government had granted a full waiver of taxes and duties on petrol, valued at more than N3.3tn for the year up to September 30, 2026.
He stressed that the measures were not intended to restore a blanket fuel subsidy.
But the NDC maintained that the announcement was evidence of the failure of the APC administration’s economic policies.
The party urged Nigerians to vote for Peter Obi and other NDC candidates in the 2027 elections, saying, “A New Nigeria is POssible with Obi.”
The controversy comes more than three years after Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy in his May 29, 2023, inaugural address, a decision that triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices and has remained one of the defining economic policies of his administration.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President described the measure as a temporary intervention that would not address the hardship caused by high fuel prices.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had announced that the discount would run for an initial 30 days, with priority given to public transport operators.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedel, said that the 30-day arrangement is not a return to petrol subsidy, adding that the government would allow NNPC to sell petrol at cost during the period.
Atiku described the initiative as a “panic-driven publicity stunt” and accused the administration of offering temporary relief instead of addressing the wider cost-of-living crisis.
“Atiku totally rejects this calendar-scheduled, election-laced subsidy package. Nigerians are not fools to be offered a month of discounted fuel after years of punishing prices and then expected to forget the hardship when the discount expires. This is shameless and heartless,” he said.
The former Vice President questioned what would happen after the 30-day period, arguing that Nigerians would still face high fuel, transport and food costs.
“What happens on Day 31? Nigerians wake up to the same brutal prices, the same punishing transport fares and the same rising cost of food. The government cannot manufacture relief for one month and expect Nigerians to applaud while the hardship remains,” he said.
Atiku also questioned the scope of the intervention, noting that it would be limited to NNPC stations. He said the government had yet to disclose how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings by transport operators would translate into lower fares for passengers.
The former Vice President further argued that the government’s decision to introduce the temporary measure supported his proposal for production support tied to locally refined petrol.
“This volte-face proves that the production-support proposal I have advanced is workable, achievable and not complicated. The Tinubu government and its spin doctors have tried to make it sound impossible, yet they are now reaching for a temporary subsidy-style intervention because the pain has become impossible to ignore,” Atiku said.
He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that the benefits reach consumers while supporting domestic refining.
“Nigerians need lasting relief, not a countdown to the return of hardship. Tinubu’s government cannot spend years telling Nigerians to endure, then offer 30 days of relief and call it a solution,” he said.
Atiku added, “Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again.”
