The Federal Government has announced a 30-day discount on petrol sold at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stations, with public transport operators to receive priority, in a move it says is aimed at easing transportation costs.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, announced the measure on Thursday at a press briefing in Abuja, stressing that it 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,” Oyedele said.
According to the minister, the intervention would be supported by forward sales of crude to domestic refineries as production increases and previously committed crude is freed up.
He said the arrangement was intended to shield petrol prices from fluctuations in the international market and provide greater certainty for refiners and consumers.
Oyedele added that the government planned to sell crude to refiners at $80 per barrel over the next six months, saying the arrangement would help provide stability in the downstream petroleum market.
However, former Vice President and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar rejected the 30-day discount, describing it as a temporary measure that would not address the underlying hardship caused by high fuel and transportation costs.
In a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of offering temporary relief after years of rising living costs.
Atiku questioned what would happen after the 30-day period, arguing that Nigerians could return to the same high fuel prices, transport fares and food costs once the discount expires.
“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,” he said.
He also questioned the scope of the intervention, noting that it was limited to NNPC stations and that the government had yet to state how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that lower fuel costs for transport operators would translate into reduced fares for passengers.
Atiku further argued that the announcement amounted to a temporary response to a deeper economic problem and reiterated his proposal for production support tied to petrol refined locally.
He said such an arrangement should be capped, budgeted and structured with safeguards to ensure that the benefit reaches consumers while supporting domestic refining.
“Tinubu’s government cannot spend years telling Nigerians to endure, then offer 30 days of relief and call it a solution,” Atiku said.
He added, “Nigerians need lasting relief, not a countdown to the return of hardship.”
The Federal Government, however, has maintained that its latest intervention does not amount to a restoration of the former blanket petrol subsidy regime, which Oyedele said would create longer-term fiscal and market distortions.
