Nigerians across several states have expressed disappointment over the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount scheme, saying the intervention has yet to deliver meaningful relief as fuel prices remain high at filling stations.
Checks across Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, Bayelsa and Kwara states showed that petrol prices remained above N1,300 per litre at several Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets, while some independent marketers sold the product for as much as N1,900 per litre.
Motorists and commercial transport operators complained that the N66-per-litre discount announced by NNPC was difficult to access, with eligibility conditions, limited availability of self-service pumps and long queues discouraging potential beneficiaries.
The Federal Government introduced the temporary intervention to ease the economic hardship associated with high transportation costs and rising prices of goods and services.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the scheme would cover petrol supplied by NNPC, with public transport operators identified as priority beneficiaries. He said NNPC would temporarily forgo its retail profit margin and sell petrol at N1,350 per litre.
However, days after the announcement on October 8, NNPCL outlets in Abuja raised prices to N1,405 before reducing to N1,370. As of Monday, no surveyed NNPCL outlet was dispensing at N1,350.
Petroleum marketers blamed the volatility on speculation. The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the announcement created market uncertainty.
“It is due to speculation. Right now, we have just one dominant refinery and some imports. So that is possible. If demand is too high, it can affect price. There’s nothing to panic about. Eventually, the price will be stable,” Gillis-Harry said.
He emphasised that unless the intervention was extended evenly across the downstream sector, volatility would persist.
The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying, assuring that members have sufficient stock from Dangote Refinery.
Consumers have called for a wider distribution system that would extend the reduction to more stations and translate into lower transport fares.
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, criticised the policy as an election-laced package.
“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,” Atiku said in a statement signed by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
“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 who would bear the cost, noting that NNPC Limited is now a commercial company under the Petroleum Industry Act.
“Tinubu wants Nigerians to cheer for N66 off a litre before they ask who ordered NNPC to surrender the money,” the statement reads.
Oyedele maintained that the arrangement was not a return to petrol subsidy abolished in May 2023. He said restoring prices to pre-reform levels could cost more than N20 trillion annually.
