Aniefiok Christopher
The Federal Government has announced a 30-day discount on petrol sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, with public transport operators to receive priority under the arrangement.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated 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.
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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.
