Tinubu’s petrol discount not return to subsidy — APC Chairman

…challenges Atiku over fuel-pricing policy

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has defended the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount of ₦66 per litre, insisting that the intervention is not a return to fuel subsidy but a temporary response to rising international oil prices.

Yilwatda also challenged former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his criticism of the measure, arguing that the opposition politician’s position on fuel pricing similarly involves adjustments based on market conditions.

The APC chairman spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where presenter Seun Okinbaloye questioned whether the discount would provide meaningful relief to Nigerians struggling with high transport fares, food prices and declining purchasing power.

Asked whether the Tinubu administration was copying Atiku’s policy by reducing petrol prices, Yilwatda rejected the suggestion.

“No, no, no. And ours is not actually bringing back subsidy. We have not brought back subsidy,” he said.

According to him, the government’s intervention was designed to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices without reversing the market-based pricing policy introduced following the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023.

“We say that the cost has been defrayed now. When the price of crude goes down in the international market, that can be defrayed by the same marketers as the cost comes down,” he said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) introduced a ₦66-per-litre discount at its retail outlets on October 1, initially as an Independence Anniversary promotion, before the Federal Government announced a 30-day relief initiative on October 8.

The company subsequently confirmed that the discount would run until October 31, stressing that it was a customer-relief measure and did not amount to the reintroduction of petroleum subsidy. The arrangement applies to NNPC retail stations rather than establishing a uniform price across the country.

Pressed on the adequacy and duration of the intervention, questioning whether a reduction of ₦66 per litre for just one month would make a significant difference to Nigerians facing economic hardship; Yilwatda defended the measure, arguing that the government was responding to developments in the international oil market.

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“No, no. It’s global. Even in the US, they even tax cut on petrol products because of…” he said.

Also asked what would happen when the relief period expired, arguing that Nigerians could be left facing the same pressures from high petrol prices. The APC said the government had to monitor developments in the international market before determining its next steps.

“No, we have to look at it. You know, normally these are temporary issues, so you have to study the international community and the directions,” he said.

He added that the conflict involving Iran and the United States could end at any time, potentially changing the conditions affecting global oil prices.

The APC chairman subsequently challenged Atiku over his position on petrol pricing, arguing that the former vice-president had also advocated changes to fuel pricing and the eventual removal of subsidy.

“The same Atiku said that he will sell the refineries. He will remove subsidy. Like, he will not leave it for one day,” Yilwatda said.

He further argued that Atiku had proposed studying market forces and adjusting prices before eventually removing subsidy.

“So who is deceiving?” the APC chairman asked, challenging the opposition politician’s criticism of the Tinubu administration’s intervention.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), had criticised the Federal Government’s 30-day discount, questioning what would happen when the intervention expired.

He argued that temporary relief would not resolve the wider cost-of-living crisis and maintained that his proposal for production support tied to locally refined petroleum products offered a different approach to reducing prices.