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The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organization (MDPCO) has rejected the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount, describing the intervention as inadequate to address the pressure facing Nigerians.
The campaign organisation, which supports Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, criticised the temporary nature of the measure and called for a more significant reduction in petrol prices.
The Federal Government announced the discount on Thursday, saying petrol dispensed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) would be sold at cost for an initial 30 days, with public transporters receiving priority.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the arrangement should not be regarded as a return to subsidy.
“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,” Oyedele said.
However, in a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the MDPCO said the reduction would not provide the kind of relief Nigerians needed.
The organisation questioned the size of the reduction, describing the reported N60 cut as insufficient in view of the increases in petrol prices.
It also criticised the decision to make the discount temporary, arguing that a one-month intervention would not provide a sustainable solution to the rising cost of living.
“The fact that the minuscule reduction will only be on scantly located NNPC owned retail filling stations and for a period of one month clearly shows that the Tinubu administration has come to its wits end and become bereft of solutions,” the statement said.
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The campaign organisation further raised concerns over the Federal Government’s proposal to sell crude oil to domestic refiners at a dollar-denominated rate.
It described the proposed arrangement as inappropriate for an oil-producing country and called for measures that would deliver more direct benefits to consumers.
Meanwhile, Oyedele disclosed that the government was negotiating a ₦1,350-per-litre ceiling for the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol.
He clarified that the proposed figure would not represent a fixed pump price. Rather, he said, the mechanism was intended to reduce the immediate impact of fluctuations in global crude prices and foreign exchange rates on petrol prices.
“Pump prices should not have to follow every swing in global crude or the exchange rate. The government is negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 a litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol to keep pump prices stable,” Oyedele said.
According to him, when costs rise beyond the ceiling, refiners and importers would initially absorb the difference and recover it when market conditions improve.
Oyedele said the arrangement was neither a subsidy nor conventional price control, but a mechanism designed to reduce volatility in petrol prices.
The Makinde campaign, however, maintained that Nigerians required a more substantial and lasting reduction rather than a temporary intervention.
