Nigeria’s government has announced a 30-day discount on petrol sold by state oil company NNPC Limited, as pump prices hit record highs of roughly ₦1,400 to ₦1,450 per litre and the country heads toward its January 2027 presidential election.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele announced the measure at a briefing in Abuja on October 8, prioritizing access for public transport operators. “We are offering a discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC Limited for the next 30 days in the first instance,” he said, insisting “it’s not a subsidy, government is just saying we sell to you at cost.” Prices have climbed sharply from about ₦830 per litre earlier this year after a Middle East crisis disrupted energy supplies, and from well under ₦700 before President Bola Tinubu removed Nigeria’s longstanding fuel subsidy in 2023, a reform the IMF said had been costing the country roughly $10 billion a year.
Oyedele also said the government is negotiating a ₦1,350-per-litre ceiling on the landing cost of imported petrol, to be reviewed monthly, alongside a forward crude-sales arrangement with domestic refineries intended to lock in prices and cushion against global swings. “Pump prices should not have to follow every swing in global crude or the exchange rates,” he said.
The timing, roughly 100 days before the election, has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition. The Nigeria Democratic Congress, backing candidate Peter Obi, called the measures an “attempt to re-introduce petrol subsidy through the backdoor,” while rival candidate Atiku Abubakar asked “what happens on Day 31?” and proposed a narrower, budgeted subsidy tied to locally refined fuel instead.
