Reactions Trail Fed Govt’s 30-Day Discount On Petrol Sold By NNPC
Reactions have trailed the Federal Government’s announcement of a 30-day margin discount on petrol dispensed through Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) stations.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele had unveiled a 10-point intervention package, which includes a ₦1,350 per litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol.
Reacting to the announcement, the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council dismissed the intervention as a “desperate, shameless, and insulting” political gimmick.
A statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC accused the ruling administration of deliberately
inflicting economic hardship on citizens for over three years, only to offer a brief, calculation-driven relief ahead of upcoming elections.
Similarly, the Nigeria Democratic Congress and members of the Obidient Movement joined in condemning the policy, describing it as an unstable “sticking plaster” over a bleeding economic wound rather than a sustainable energy policy.
The Presidential Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement Seyi Makinde, said the discount announced by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration was inadequate, arguing that Nigerians expected a more significant reduction in the price of petrol.
Makinde criticised the decision to limit the discount to a 30-day period, arguing that the temporary measure would not provide lasting relief to Nigerians and also faulted the Federal Government’s proposal to sell crude oil to domestic refineries at a dollar-denominated rate, describing the arrangement as “distasteful and offensive to the Nigeria as an oil producing nation.
The Finance Minister had announced that the government was also targeting a ₦1,350-per-litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol which he said was not a fixed pump price, but intended to prevent sharp movements in global crude prices.
Oyedele said that the government was taking further steps because existing measures had not fully addressed the pressure on households and businesses.
