‘Discounted’ fuel price: Nigerians decry NNPCL’s sale of fuel at N1,405

• Only customers who access our fuel app will pay N1,339 per litre —NNPCL spokesperson

• Tinubu administration clever by half —NLC  •It’s mere smokescreen —CASER

NIGERIANS, at the weekend, decried the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) retail outlets at N1,405 per litre, despite the euphoria that trailed announcement by the Federal Government to sell the product at a discounted rate.

Nigerians, heaved a sigh of temporary relief, when, last week, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said the government would offer a margin discount for 30 days at  the NNPC stations with priority for public transporters.

Oyedele, however, clarified that the decision was not a return to subsidy, but that the government wanted to sell to Nigerians at a cost.

“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; the government is just saying we sell to you at cost,” the minister said.

The Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered that Nigerians who drove their vehicles to NNPC retail stations to buy fuel at N1,350, were disappointed, as they were asked to download the NNPC Fuel App, before they could access or buy fuel.

At NNPC retail stations in Mararaba, Abacha Road, Nasarawa State, along the busy Abuja-Keffi expressway and Berger, in the Federal Capital Territory, the Nigerian Tribune discovered that the retail outlets pumps showed N1,405.

Fuel attendants in their individual responses said they were working on directives that only those with the fuel app downloaded on their phones should benefit from the N66 discount, to buy fuel at N1,339 per litre.

NNPCL speaks on app

The Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO) of the NNPC, Andy Odeh, while responding to inquiry by the Nigerian Tribune, said fuel still sells at N1,405 per litre at the corporation’s retail stations.

According to Odey, only customers who can access the NNPC fuel app will get fuel at N1,339 per litre, at the N66 per litre discount.

He said: “The pump price at NNPC retail stations in Abuja is currently N1,405 per litre. However, customers who access the N66 per litre discount, through the NNPCL fuel app, pay an effective price of N1,339 per litre. The discount, which commenced on October 1, runs until October 31, and is available exclusively through the app.”

NLC accuses govt of indifference to citizens’ plight

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, spokesman for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Benson Upah, accused the present administration of indifference to the plight of Nigerians in the face of biting economic hardship thrown up by its reforms.

Upah, who dismissed the discounted rate as miserly, maintained that the government has no intention of reducing fuel price or cushioning the effects of its tough economic policies on the average Nigerian.

He said: “The N66 per litre discount is miserly. The 30-day threshold is beggarly. The app installation, as a precondition for benefitting from the scheme, is both restrictive and diversionary.

“Government should stop playing Russian roulette with the lives of citizens by courageously and honourably taking responsibility.

“It’s no heroism or gallantry or economic ingenuity when you watch life ebb out of your citizens when you have the resources to stop it.

“One of the staying powers of capitalism or market economy is its ability to reinvent itself with its citizens during extremely difficult times.

“This government should, therefore, take a cue from these historical realities instead of trying to be clever by half.”

Motorists express worry

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, in Abuja, a motorist who spoke on the condition of anonymity, accused the government of deceiving Nigerians about fuel price reduction by hiding conditions attached to it.

He queried the sincerity of government to the citizens, saying Nigerians deserve more than a pronouncement.

“This government needed to be taught a lesson that Nigerians are not fools. Whether we like it or not, NNPCL is still under the control of the President, because he still appoints the Group Chief Executive Officer. How can a government give a directive and a government agency will flout it, insisting that Nigerians must undergo pain to access fuel and there is no punishment as we speak? I came to the filling station expecting to buy fuel at N1,350 as announced by the government only to come here and being told that I have to download an app before I will be qualified to buy fuel at a discounted price. I don’t have the time as I bought at N1,405 and left. But, what will happen to those transporters, who don’t have understanding of anything app?

“Atiku Abubakar has kept them on their toes and rather than do the right thing, they have been caught in a web of confusion. I believe Nigerians are wiser now and will take the right decision as we count days to the 2027 general election,” he stated.

Also, a motorist, in Abuja, Mr Babatunde Atoye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the discount was not automatically available to customers at filling stations.

Atoye said motorists had to access the discount through the company’s mobile application.

A petrol attendant, who pleaded anonymity said motorists and consumers could only make payment via the application.

She stated that it was not yet directed at motorists and consumers at the NNPC Ltd. through  pump stations.

Another motorist, Mr Abdulrahim Malik, said customers could only benefit from the N66-per-litre discount by downloading the application.

“How do people who do not have access to Android phones benefit from the discount?

“Some people cannot read or write, let alone access Android phones. How can they use the digital application,” he asked.

Mr George Ochendu, a stakeholder, commended the government for reducing the cost of petrol but expressed concern that many Nigerians may not benefit from the discount due to network challenges.

“They said we should download the app and follow the procedure. NNPC Ltd. is still selling petrol at N1,405 per litre, but on the application, it is N1,339,” he said.

Mrs Toyin Daniel, a consumer, said motorists that purchased petrol directly at the pumps without using the application do not automatically enjoy the discount.

“I wonder how the Federal Government expects some motorists who are not familiar with the digital platform to access the discounted,” she said.

Mr Jide Ojo, a public analyst, said the reduction would have limited impact because of the relatively small number of the company’s outlets compared with other retail stations.

According to him, there is no economic justification for motorists to travel long distances and spend valuable time searching for NNPCL filling stations to benefit from the discount.

He said the petrol price ceiling of N1,339 per litre would still be unaffordable for many Nigerians, who required a more significant reduction in energy costs.

Ojo also called for clarity on the government’s plans to ensure that the benefits of cheaper petrol reached Nigerians across the country.

The analyst expressed concern over reports that the Dangote Refinery was not receiving sufficient crude oil locally to meet its requirements, forcing it to rely partly on imported crude.

“The Federal Government should consider supplying crude oil to the Dangote Refinery at a discounted rate, with a corresponding reduction in the price of refined petroleum products sold to Nigerians.

“Such an arrangement will allow Nigerians to purchase petrol at lower prices from different retail outlets rather than being restricted to NNPCL filling stations,” he said.

Reacting in a telephone interview, the Executive Director of the Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), Frank Tietie, said the condition attached to the offer has made it unattractive and unpopular, noting that Nigerians deserve more than a political statement from government or its agencies.

The legal practitioner charged Nigerians to demand unconditional offer from government, as the government does not need to subject citizens to unnecessary process to enjoy their rights.

Tietie said: “It is the conditional offer that made it unattractive. It is more of a political benefit to the Tinubu administration. The fact that there’s a condition before accessing the offer defeats the whole aim and, therefore, reduces it to a mere political jingoism in the sense that it is a statement that is good for campaign but the condition makes it unrealistic and defeats the whole idea. So, it is not the best.

“If they want to discount, they should expressly discount for anybody who accesses the NNPCL stations and not make the person go through an app that is subjected to so many vagaries, including network. The condition defeats it.”

He added:  “Nigerians should demand unconditional offer. If they want to reduce fuel within a certain period, they should do so without attaching any condition or ask Nigerians to download an app and make an application first before they go and queue up. Those conditionalities are just meant to discourage people from accessing it and it is not good.”

However, a check by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that AA Rano sells fuel at N1,410 per litre; Bovas, N1,390; MRS, N1,390; Hariz, N1,400; TotalEnergy, N1,400 and Azman, N1,398.