JUST IN: FG offers 30-day petrol discount for transporters

Public transporters will get a 30-day petrol discount in Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) stations nationwide to ameliorate the rising costs of transportation, the Federal Government has announced.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, announced this on Thursday during a press briefing on fuel prices and the subsidy question.

Oyedele said the intervention was to provide succor for public transport operators amid rising petrol prices and their impact on transport costs.

“We are offering a discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC for the next 30 days in the first instance, with priority for public transport operators nationwide,” he said.

The Minister however explained the initiative should not be interpreted as a return to the petrol subsidy regime.

“It is not a subsidy. Government is saying we will sell to you at cost price,” Oyedele said.

Petrol prices have risen to between ₦1,400-N1,500 per litre nationwide owing to rise in international crude oil prices.

Oyedele said crude oil, which traded at about $70 per barrel before the conflict, had risen, while petrol prices moved from about ₦830 per litre to an average of ₦1,400.

“We do not like ₦1,400/litre. It’s expensive. But if the subsidy had not been removed by Mr President, what we’d be dealing with today would be far worse than ₦1,400,” he said.

The Minister admitted higher fuel prices had increased transport and logistics costs, with the impact particularly severe on vulnerable households.

The 30-day discount, he said, would therefore prioritise public transport operators as the government seeks to cushion the effect of the current fuel price environment without returning to the previous subsidy arrangement.