*Nigerians Need Lasting Relief, Not Countdown To Return Of Hardship’
*30 Days Of Petrol Discount Cannot Erase Three Years Of Suffering, Says Obidient Movement
*Oyedele Insists Action Not Return To Subsidy, Price Control
FORMER vice president, Atiku Abubakar, Obidient Movement, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and presidential campaign organisation of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and others, have dismissed the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day petrol discount, describing it as inadequate and politically-motivated intervention.
Recently, many Nigerians, including the labour unions and prominent presidential candidates in next year’s general elections have decried the rising fuel prices at a time the average citizens were sliding into the poverty line due to high cost and falling standards of living.
The Federal Government, on Thursday, October 8, announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited )NNPCL) would forgo its retail profit margin on petrol and sell the product to Nigerians at a discounted cost as part of measures to cushion the effects of global crude oil price hike.
The government, however, insisted that the intervention, backed by President Bola Tinubu, does not amount to a return to the petrol subsidy regime, which he ended upon inauguration on May 29, 2023.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, had announced that NNPCL would offer discounted petrol at its filling stations nationwide for 30 days, with priority given to public transport operators, by temporarily forgoing its profit margins.
A statement on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said NNPC Retail would roll out the new arrangement within 30 days.
The statement, titled, ‘NNPC Retail forgoes petrol profit margin to offer some support to Nigerian households amid global petrol crisis; FG announces additional measures,’ said NNPCL would sell petrol to Nigerians, particularly commercial transport operators, at its landing cost, adding: “This means if NNPC’s landing cost is N1, 300, it will sell fuel to Nigerians, especially commercial vehicles, at the same price.”
The Presidency said the Federal Government was also negotiating a ceiling of N1, 350 per litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol to help stabilise pump prices, and that where costs rose above the ceiling, refiners and importers would bear the shortfall and recover it later when crude oil prices or the exchange rate improved, without breaching the ceiling.
“This is neither a subsidy nor a price control: It is designed to smooth prices over time rather than suppressing them.
“The reasoning is simple: N1, 400 a litre today and N1, 400 tomorrow is better than N1, 500 today and N1, 300 tomorrow, because volatility itself adds to uncertainty and cost. And when fares rise sharply, they rarely fall as fast.
“The ceiling will be reviewed monthly, reset as costs require, and the figures published for transparency,” Oyedele was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, the minister said the Federal Government would also sell crude forward to domestic refineries to shield pump prices from global volatility as production increased and previously committed crude was freed up.
It noted that under the 2025 tax reform laws, the Federal Government, in collaboration with state governments and security agencies, was working to rein in the collection of road taxes and levies that inflate transport fares and logistics costs, while increasing funding for cash transfers to vulnerable households and subsidised credit for small businesses and consumers.
Other measures include the rollout of compressed natural gas (CNG), with the Federal Government scaling up its deployment, in collaboration with state governments, and expecting transport operators to pass the savings on to passengers through lower fares.
The presidency explained that an excess-profit tax could be considered for operators found to have taken undue advantage of consumers anywhere along the energy value chain and proceeds from such a measure would be used only to cushion fuel prices through transport support or vouchers for urban minimum-wage earners.
The statement noted that government would also work with the National Assembly on enhanced tax relief for low-income earners under the 2027 Finance Bill, reiterating that the measures did not amount to a subsidy or price control, but were designed to secure supply and deter artificial scarcity and market manipulation.
It said traffic management agencies would improve traffic flow in major urban centres to reduce fuel consumption, while NIPOST’s newly launched address codes would make logistics more efficient and cheaper, noting none of the measures restored a blanket subsidy, but “would create longer-term harm for a short-term cure.”
According to the statement: “Removing the fuel subsidy came at a price. But the alternative has been tried. Nigeria has already lived through that cycle: Scarcity, smuggling, a collapsing currency and a fiscal crisis.
“We cannot afford to live through it again, least of all in response to a temporary disruption, and at the very moment the results of reform are gathering pace.
“Government is not out to reverse a necessary reform designed to set our country on the path towards sustained prosperity. It is to ensure its gains reach more Nigerians, faster and in more tangible ways. That is our work, and we are committed to doing it.”
The Presidency stated that the Federal Government was working on a comprehensive package of fiscal measures aimed at sustainably bringing inflation down to single digits in the near term.
The Chief Executive Officer of PetroleumPrice.ng, Jeremiah Olatide, described the 30-day discount as a positive development that could help stabilise petrol prices and provide relief to Nigerians, but argued that the proposed N1, 350-per-litre benchmark for ex-gantry or landing costs was too high and urged the government to reduce it to N1, 000.
He said: “For me, I think this is a good development. But the price modulation at N1, 350 is quite on the high side. What the Federal Government should be looking at is N1, 000 per litre at the gantry price ceiling.
“I am expecting a reassessment or reevaluation of this policy downwards after several calls by citizens.”
Olatide described the decision as a shift towards direct intervention in petrol pricing, saying it could benefit consumers more than previous initiatives, adding: “The government has now decided to start capping petrol prices. Other countries have done this months earlier.
“I have always called for direct intervention at the pump, and that is what they are doing. This is quite better, and it is going to have an influence on Nigerians. It is better than the CNG subsidy.”
He, however, restated that the proposed benchmark remained unaffordable for many households, noting: “It will definitely bring stability. Hopefully, they would review the decision to N1, 000 because this is what Nigerians are yearning for.
“The N1, 350 price cap is quite outrageous for Nigerians.”
Oyedele has clarified that the precise discount had yet to be determined, saying NNPCL would calculate the amount based on its operating costs and margins.
He explained further: “I’m not saying that this margin discount will be 66. It may be more, it may be less. They’ve sent me some calculations as to how much it will cost. But they will implement the instruction of the government in this regard.”
The minister said the intervention would be reviewed after 30 days and expressed hope that other marketers would voluntarily reduce their margins, and neither a subsidy nor a price control, but designed to smooth prices over time rather than suppressing them.
Oyedele attributed the increase in petrol prices from about N830 to an average of N1, 400 per litre to the Middle East conflict, warning that restoring the petrol subsidy could cost over N20trillion yearly.
He disclosed that subsidy removal had released N15.8trillion to the Federation Account between June 2023 and December last year, while the government had waived over N3.3trillion in petrol taxes and duties between January and September this year.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, confirmed that the state-owned company had already commenced discounting petrol prices, following approvals obtained around the October 1 independence day celebration.
Ojulari said NNPC was prepared to prioritise economic stability and consumer welfare over immediate profitability.
Despite government’s position, many Nigerians, especially energy experts, warned that the intervention could amount to another form of subsidy if its costs were not transparently managed, while others welcome the development as a temporary relief.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council, in a statement issued by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the intervention as a “panic-driven publicity stunt,” adding: “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.”
The statement questioned the sustainability of the initiative, asking: “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.”
Atiku also questioned the restriction of the discount to NNPCL stations, as well as the absence of a confirmed amount per litre and guarantees that transport operators would pass the savings on to passengers, saying the intervention vindicated his proposal for production support tied to locally refined petrol.
According to him: “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.”
He restated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support for domestically refined petrol, with safeguards to ensure that consumers benefit, noting: “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.
On its part, the Obidient Movement questioned the timing of the intervention, which it linked to the approaching general elections.
In a statement by its Director of Media and Communications, Onyeka Dike, the Movement queried why government had waited over three years after subsidy removal before introducing measures to reduce petrol prices, saying: “For three years, Tinubu told Nigerians that the ‘baby steps of pain’ were necessary.
“Now, suddenly, a petrol discount is possible. So, what changed? Did subsidy suddenly become good because Peter Obi said he would restore it? Why the desperation as elections approach?”
Dike said Nigerians had endured high petrol prices, increased taxes, rising tuition fees and escalating food costs since the subsidy was removed, noting: “The pains were never necessary. They were policy choices.”
It urged Nigerians not to be swayed by the temporary relief measures, saying Nigeria requires sustainable access to affordable fuel, food and education, insisting: “Three years of suffering cannot be erased by 30 days of petrol discount.
“Tokenism and a Greek gift from a government that whimsically removed fuel subsidy without proper consideration, consultation, or cushions for Nigerians.”
Its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, argued that the discount would not address the economic consequences of subsidy removal, including job losses and business closures, noting: “Nigerians cannot be deceived.”
Director questioned whether how many Nigerians NNPC filling stations could serve, warning that the arrangement could create congestion and stampedes, and “the attempt to reintroduce petrol subsidy through the backdoor is not only mischievous, but also a sign of a government in free fall, ready to clutch at anything to survive.”
Similarly, Makinde’s Allied Peoples Movement Presidential Campaign Organisation described the intervention as deceptive and inadequate.
In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the organisation said:
“It is a slap in the face of the suffering citizens that at the time they expected an impactful reduction in the astronomically high pump price of petrol, the Tinubu government came out on national media to announce an infinitesimal and ‘microscopic’ discount of N60.
“The question is, why is it that the Tinubu administration that is so quick in carrying out geometric increase in the price of petrol by up to 733 per cent is now embarking on arithmetic ratio in decrease with a teeny N60 in a desperate attempt to score a cheap political point just because elections are around the corner.”
The statement argued that limiting the intervention to NNPCL filling stations for one month demonstrated the administration’s inability to address rising living costs, adding: “The fact that the minuscule reduction will only be on scantly located NNPC-owned retail filling stations and for a period of one month clearly shows that the Tinubu administration has come to its wits’ end and become bereft of solutions.
“What Nigerians desired and deserve is an impactful reduction in fuel price and not this dishonest act to hoodwink citizens ahead of the 2027 general elections.”
Speaking on a television programme, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, dismissed the initiative as uncoordinated, saying: “I watched the announcement video, but there is no actual plan behind it, so I cannot even tell whether it is a formal policy or just a political gesture.
“It immediately reminded me of the 1990s television series, Fuji House of Commotion. What they presented is essentially ‘Tinubu’s House of Commotion.’ It makes no sense whatsoever.”
He said the 30-day fuel discount window does not have legal backing and structural clarity, noting: “Besides the NNPC, none of the people seated there belong in that decision. The NNPC is supposed to be a limited liability company with its own independent management.
“Second, there is no designated account established under the Ministry of Finance to handle petrol discount subsidies.
“Third, a 30-day window is not a short-term policy, it is a flash in the moment, lacking short-, medium-, or long-term vision.
“Furthermore, they did not cite a single law authorising what they are doing.”
Adebayo warned against artificially trying to slash petrol prices without addressing production costs, saying: “If you want to lower petrol prices, you do not adjust the retail selling price out of thin air, you adjust the cost of production.
“It is a tragedy for a country when the person positioned to coordinate our economy reduces his thinking to the level of a petrol station attendant giving out discounts. A fuel attendant’s level of intellect cannot manage monetary and fiscal policy.
“What I have repeatedly advised them to do, and what I would do as President, is allocate crude oil explicitly for domestic consumption.”
In the same vein, president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, said: “You and I know very well that whenever you cap the price of any product, whether that cap will be high or that cap will be low, it is a subsidy in one form or the other.
“When the gantry price is more than N1, 350, let’s say it’s N1, 500, and the government is taking off that cost of N150, you’re actually subsidising the product, so it’s actually a subsidy.”
(With online reports)
