The Federal Government has introduced a 30-day discount on petrol sold through Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) retail stations, with public transport operators prioritised as part of measures to ease rising transportation costs.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced the measure at a briefing on petrol prices and government interventions in the downstream oil sector.
The government said the arrangement would allow petrol dispensed through NNPC stations to be sold at cost for the initial 30-day period, with commercial transport operators given priority.
“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, government is just saying we sell to you at cost,” Edun said.
The initiative targets commercial transport operators, including buses, tricycles and taxis, as the government seeks to limit the impact of high petrol costs on transportation fares and household spending.
The intervention comes amid elevated petrol prices following the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023, which shifted the downstream market towards a more market-driven pricing system.
The government is also negotiating a N1,350 per litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol as part of measures to moderate price volatility.
Under the proposed arrangement, the government said refiners and importers would initially absorb increases when the underlying cost of petrol rises above the agreed ceiling and recover the difference when market conditions improve.
The government said the mechanism is not a return to petrol subsidy or conventional price control but is designed to provide greater stability in petrol pricing.
The N1,350 ceiling would apply to the underlying cost of petrol and would not necessarily translate into a uniform N1,350 pump price across the country, as logistics, margins and other downstream costs would continue to influence retail prices.
The government said the measures are intended to provide temporary relief while longer-term reforms in the downstream petroleum sector continue.