Fuel Price: FG Offers 30-day Discount at NNPC Stations

•NLC gives two-week ultimatum to return to 2024 price

***•Atiku: Tinubu’s new measure is panic move, publicity stunt ***

***•ADC accuses government of ******attempting to bribe Nigerians ***

•Makinde Campaign: Fuel discount announcement deceitful

Ndubuisi Francis, Chuks Okocha and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government yesterday unveiled a 10-point intervention to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices and the wider energy crisis, offering a 30-day discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) filling stations nationwide, with public transporters to receive priority.

The measures, announced by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, also included a negotiated N1,350 per litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol, forward sales of crude to domestic refineries as well as removal of illegal levies.

Besides, the government said it was hastening the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), increasing support for vulnerable Nigerians and the introducing a National Strategic Fuel Reserve.

Oyedele, who announced the measures at a press conference in Abuja, said the intervention was neither a return to fuel subsidy nor an attempt to impose price controls, but rather a mechanism to moderate the effect of global energy shocks on Nigerian consumers and businesses.

He said the federal government had taken several steps since the removal of fuel and foreign exchange subsidies to cushion the resulting hardship, but was compelled to introduce the new measures following the sharp increase in global energy prices arising from the conflict in the Middle East.

“We are offering a discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC Limited for the next 30 days, with priority for public transporters nationwide. As production rises and previously committed crude is freed up, this would shield pump prices from volatility in the global market,” Oyedele stressed.

On the proposed N1,350 ceiling, the minister said the arrangement would prevent domestic petrol prices from responding immediately to every movement in international crude prices and the exchange rate.

“Pump prices should not have to follow every swing in global crude or the exchange rate. The government is negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 a litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol, to keep pump prices stable.

“Where costs rise above the ceiling, refiners and importers will carry the shortfall and recover it later, when crude prices or the exchange rate allow, without breaching the ceiling,” he said.

Similarly, Oyedele said the ceiling would be reviewed monthly and the figures published to ensure transparency.

FG: Move Not Subsidy, Price Control

The minister added: “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 go up sharply, they rarely come down as fast.”

Oyedele also announced plans to remove illegal levies that contribute to higher transportation and logistics costs, saying the federal government would work with state governments under the 2025 tax reform laws to tackle such charges.

“Working with the states under the 2025 tax reform laws, we are reining in the road taxes and levies that inflate fares and logistics costs,” he said.

On direct intervention for vulnerable Nigerians, Oyedele said the government would increase funding for cash transfers to the poorest households while expanding subsidised credit for small businesses and consumers.

“We are increasing funding for cash transfers to the most vulnerable households, and for subsidised credit to small businesses and consumers,” he said.

He also announced a faster rollout of CNG, saying the federal government would scale up deployment in partnership with state governments and encourage transport operators to transfer the savings to passengers through lower fares.

The government, he said, is also considering an excess profit tax on operators that take undue advantage of consumers during the current energy crisis. Oyedele said the proposed tax could apply anywhere along the energy value chain, with proceeds dedicated to cushioning the effect of high fuel prices.

“We will consider this for operators who take undue advantage of consumers, anywhere along the energy value chain. The proceeds will be used exclusively to cushion the impact of fuel prices, through transport support or vouchers for urban minimum wage earners who are the most vulnerable,” he said.

The minister further disclosed that the government would work with the National Assembly to provide enhanced tax relief for low-income earners under the 2027 Finance Bill.

“We are cutting regulatory costs that feed into the cost of doing business and, indirectly, into higher prices of goods and services,” he said.

Under the National Strategic Fuel Reserve, Oyedele stated that the government intends to protect households and businesses from future energy shocks. According to him, refined products would be released into the market under clearly published rules whenever global disruptions or hoarding threatened supply and price stability.

He added that the reserve would prevent artificial scarcity, deter market manipulation and provide a stronger foundation for long-term energy security.

In the same vein, Oyedele said the current pressure on petrol prices was largely the result of a global shock originating from the Gulf, where the conflict had entered its eighth month.

He said shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen to roughly 13 per cent of its pre-war level by mid-September, while Brent crude was trading above $100 a barrel, almost 50 per cent higher than its pre-war level.

For Nigeria, he said, higher crude prices presented a mixed situation because, while they increased the cost of refined petroleum products, they also supported the federal budget and Federation revenue.

“Despite the hardship occasioned by subsidy removal, there is one thing Nigerians have not faced through these months, queues,” he said.

He warned against proposals to return to fuel subsidy, arguing that such a move would ultimately expose the government to an open-ended financial burden and distort the foreign exchange market.

According to him, a return to subsidy would effectively require the government to subsidise foreign exchange because crude oil, freight and refining inputs are dollar-priced.

NLC Gives FG Two-week Ultimatum

Still in the rising fuel prices, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday issued the federal government a two-week ultimatum, beginning tomorrow, October 9, to reduce the price of petrol to the level at which the current national minimum wage was negotiated in 2024.

The ultimatum was contained in a communiqué issued after the joint meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) and Central Working Committee (CWC) of the NLC held in Abuja on October 7, 2026, at Olaitan Oyerinde Hall, Labour House.

The communiqué, signed by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, also demanded immediate commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage and implementation of outstanding agreements with organised labour.

“The joint meeting issues a two-week ultimatum to the federal government, beginning from Friday, the 9th day of October, 2026 within which it is expected to, among other things, take measures to reduce the price of petrol across the nation to what it was at the signing of the current national minimum wage in 2024 to cushion the impact of the energy crisis on workers and masses as being done by other nations of the world,” the communiqué stated.

Petrol sold for N668.30 per litre in January 2024 when the minimum wage was being negotiated, before rising to N1,214.17 per litre in November of the same year.

The NLC also demanded implementation of the terms of settlement reached with the Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Healthcare Professionals (JOHESU) on February 5, 2026, as well as the demands of the Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council.

It demanded that the federal government begin renegotiation of the national minimum wage before the end of October, insisting that the current wage had been eroded by the depreciation of the naira and rising cost of living.

The congress said the government should approve a living wage that reflected the true cost of living and dignity of Nigerian workers.

It warned that failure to meet the demands within the two-week period would compel it to take “remedial steps” as directed by its relevant organs.

The labour movement said its NEC and CWC had deliberated on the state of the nation and the “existential threats” confronting workers and the masses, expressing concern over the deteriorating living conditions of Nigerians.

“Inflation continues to soar unabated, the Naira remains traumatised, wages have been rendered worthless, and cost of living has become unbearable. The ruling elite, acting as enforcers of global monopoly capital, have demonstrated worrying indifference to the suffering of the people,” it said.

The NLC further demanded tax relief for workers as agreed and immediate provision of wage awards to cushion the rising cost of living, describing the measures as the bare minimum required to restore the dignity of Nigerian workers.

Atiku: Tinubu’s 30-day Fuel Discount Driven by Panic

In the same vein, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday rejected the federal government’s proposed 30-day fuel discount, describing it as a temporary measure that could not address the underlying cost-of-living crisis.

In a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the administration had watched Nigerians endure prolonged hardship before suddenly introducing the intervention.

He said the measure amounted to dangling temporary relief before Nigerians as the 2027 election approached.

“Now, as the election draws closer, President Tinubu is dangling a temporary discount at the very epicentre of the cost-of-living crisis that has tormented households and businesses.

“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,” he said.

Atiku questioned what would happen after the 30-day period.

“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.

He also questioned the scope of the measure, noting that it was limited to NNPC stations and that the government had yet to state how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings accruing to transport operators would be passed on to passengers through lower fares.

According to him, the government’s sudden shift in policy amounted to an admission that alternative measures to address fuel prices were possible.

“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,” Atiku said.

He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to petrol refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure the benefit reaches consumers while supporting local refining.

“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,” he said.

ADC to Tinubu: Nigerians Will Reject Your Fuel ‘Bribe’

Meanwhile, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) yesterday also condemned the federal government’s planned petrol discount, describing it as an attempt to bribe Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a statement in Abuja, the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the announcement amounted to an admission that the government had inflicted severe hardship on Nigerians through its economic policies.

“After over three years of subjecting Nigerians to excruciating pain through the reckless removal of fuel subsidy, the collapse of the naira and suffocating economic policies, the Tinubu administration now thinks it can bribe Nigerians with 30 days of cheaper fuel. “Nigerians will reject your one-month bribe,” he said.

The council said the announcement had vindicated Atiku’s position that fuel prices could be moderated while supporting domestic refining.

“We commend our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for boldly exposing the failures of this oppressive government and for promising to restore a humane and responsible approach to fuel subsidy management in the interest of the Nigerian people.

“The government has now, albeit belatedly, come to terms with the reality that subsidy removal without adequate safety nets was a grave policy error.

“Atiku was right all along. This half-hearted 30-day gimmick is proof that the government has finally acknowledged the truth, although it has done so too late and in a deceitful manner,” the council said.

Ologbondiyan further questioned why the government had waited until the present crisis before introducing measures aimed at reducing the burden on transport operators and consumers.

“If the government can reduce the burden of fuel costs for 30 days, with priority given to public transport operators, why did it allow Nigerians to suffer for more than 800 days?

“This proves that the government has always had the capacity to make life easier for Nigerians but chose not to do so and only remembers the suffering masses when elections are around the corner,” he said.

The ADC-PCC said no temporary concession could erase the wider economic difficulties facing Nigerians, including rising inflation, declining purchasing power, high transportation costs and the increasing cost of basic necessities.

Makinde Campaign: Fuel Discount Deceitful

Also, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) yesterday described the federal government’s 30-day discount on petrol sold at NNPC retail stations as a “deceitful” and failed media stunt designed to hoodwink Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election.

The organisation, in a statement, said the discount was an “offensive and provocative attempt” to beguile Nigerians at a time when citizens were expecting a substantial reduction in the pump price of petrol, which it said had risen to more than N1,400 per litre.

The campaign organisation questioned why the Tinubu administration, which it accused of repeatedly increasing petrol prices, was now offering what it described as an insignificant reduction with the 2027 elections approaching.

According to the organisation, the limited scope and duration of the discount further demonstrated that the administration had run out of ideas on how to address the fuel crisis.

“It is indeed appalling that a government that deliberately caused an inexplicable increase in the pump of petrol is now embarking on an insulting reduction that cannot add value but rather create wide division amongst the people,” it said.

“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,” it stressed.

The organisation insisted that the measures would not persuade Nigerians to support the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election, arguing that what citizens needed was a substantial and sustainable reduction in petrol prices rather than temporary relief.

It added that Nigerians deserved “an impactful reduction in fuel price” rather than what it described as an attempt to deceive citizens ahead of the election.