Petrol prices at Nigerian filling stations remained at N1,370 per litre after the Federal Government proposed a discounted price of N1,350 per litre.
A market survey by DAILY POST on Friday showed that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja and its environs were dispensing petrol at a flat rate of N1,370 per litre.
DAILY POST reports that the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, on Thursday announced a proposal to benchmark the petrol price at N1,350 per litre for 30 days.
The proposed discounted price is N20 lower than the N1,370 per litre at which petrol was being sold at NNPCL outlets before the announcement.
Oyedele clarified that the proposed discounted petrol price of N1,350 per litre at NNPCL filling stations does not constitute a fuel subsidy.
President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the NNPCL, in separate statements, affirmed Oyedele’s position.
However, opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have rejected Tinubu’s 30-day fuel discount initiative.
Similarly, Atiku’s allies have criticised the government’s decision, describing it as a desperate measure and political gimmick, as well as a return of fuel subsidies disguised as a discount.
Beyond the political reactions to Tinubu’s move to reduce petrol prices, petroleum product marketers and retailers have described the initiative as beneficial to Nigerians, calling for its extension to other filling stations to ensure wider coverage.
DAILY POST reports that the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have urged the Federal Government to extend the proposed N1,350-per-litre price to other filling stations.
Read more: PETROAN, IPMAN tell Tinubu to extend ₦1,350-per-litre fuel price to other filling stations
Petrol discount: NNPCL filling stations’ fuel pump price update