The Federal Government has announced a 30-day discount on petrol sold at filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, with the pump price set at N1,350 per litre.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday. He said public transporters would get priority and the price would be reviewed monthly.
“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,” he said.
Oyedele stressed that the arrangement is not a subsidy but a measure under which government sells petrol at a ceiling cost. He said the government is negotiating a ceiling price of N1,350 per litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol.
“Pump prices do not have to follow every swing in global crude prices or the exchange rate,” he said.
Forward crude sales, strategic reserve
The minister said the government also plans to sell crude oil forward to domestic refiners, though the period and price are yet to be determined. According to him, this would preserve the budget, give refiners certainty and stabilise prices for consumers.
He added that the government is investing in a National Strategic Fuel Reserve. Refined products, he said, would be released into the market under published rules whenever a global disruption or hoarding threatens supply and prices.
“This is not a subsidy and it does not fix prices, rather it secures supply and reduces price volatility,” he said.
Warning on subsidy return
Oyedele cautioned that the reintroduction of fuel subsidy, as proposed by some presidential candidates, could push petrol to N2,000 per litre and send the exchange rate towards N3,000/$1.
He said a return to subsidy would weaken revenue, trigger a sovereign credit downgrade and put at risk recent rating upgrades, including Nigeria’s first from S&P in 14 years. Borrowing would become costlier, capital would flee and reserves would fall, he added.
He also said gains on inflation, which allowed the Central Bank to begin cutting interest rates, would be threatened.
Oyedele listed other relief measures taken by the government, including the expansion of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) use. He said over 120,000 vehicles now run on CNG, supported by more than 400 conversion centres, 96 refuelling stations and 18 L-CNG stations. Over 550 CNG buses have been deployed, and fares have dropped by 30 to 50 per cent where they operate.
He added that taxes on electric vehicles and solar equipment have been removed and import duties on all vehicles cut, with duty waivers exceeding N100 billion.
“Naira was not devalued”
On the naira, Oyedele said the administration did not devalue the currency, arguing that it depreciated because the country ran out of reserves to defend an artificial rate.
He said the gap between the official and parallel market rates has narrowed from over 60 per cent to under five per cent, while reserves stand at about $55 billion, the highest in 18 years.
Presidency backs NNPC move
The Presidency said the NNPC measure has President Bola Tinubu’s approval. In a statement, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the NNPC would forgo its retail margin and sell at cost to cushion households from global crude oil price shocks.
“To be clear, none of these measures restores a blanket subsidy,” Onanuga said. He added that the government is working on a package of fiscal measures to bring inflation down to single digits.
He said NNPC Retail would roll out the deal within 30 days, so that if its landing cost is N1,300, it would sell to Nigerians, especially commercial vehicle operators, at that price.
Atiku: “What happens on Day 31?”
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, rejected the offer as a temporary political fix. In a statement by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, he described it as an “election-laced subsidy package.”
“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.
Atiku also faulted the restriction of the discount to NNPC stations, saying government had not disclosed how much motorists would save per litre or guaranteed that transporters would pass savings on to passengers.
He said the move vindicated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria. “Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again,” he said.
NDC: “Packaged deceit”
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, called the discount “tokenism” and a “Greek gift.”
The party questioned how many NNPC outlets exist to serve over 200 million Nigerians and warned of possible stampedes at filling stations. It urged Nigerians to vote for its candidate, Peter Obi, in the election scheduled for January 16, 2027.
ADC campaign: “Desperate bribe”
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council, in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, dismissed the offer as a desperate attempt to bribe Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.
“What happens after 30 days? Will Nigerians return to buying petrol at over N1,400 per litre?” the statement asked. It also questioned why the government allowed Nigerians to suffer for more than 800 days if it could cut fuel costs all along.
What Nigerians want from candidates
Some Nigerians who spoke to Vanguard said the 2027 campaigns must prioritise the cost of living, insecurity, unemployment and falling purchasing power. They called for clear implementation plans, honest communication and issue-based campaigns.
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