ABUJA — The Federal Government’s newly unveiled policy introducing a temporary 30-day price discount on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) through retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has sparked a fierce political backlash from opposition figures, who have dismissed the measure as a short-sighted and panic-driven publicity stunt.
Under the relief package announced on Thursday, federal authorities set an operational ceiling capping petrol prices at N1,350 per litre while offering targeted discounts particularly aimed at public transport operators to cushion soaring energy and logistics costs across the country.
Reacting to the initiative, former Vice President and presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar strongly criticized the short-term measure, describing it as a superficial gimmick designed to buy temporary public goodwill ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku queried the long-term sustainability of the arrangement, demanding to know what structural mechanisms the government plans to deploy on “Day 31” when the 30-day discount window lapses and citizens are once again exposed to high market-driven fuel prices and transport costs.
Similarly, presidential campaign organizations, including representatives of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Adewole Adebayo, condemned the policy, alleging that it lacks statutory backing, clear operational execution frameworks, and amounts to an unacknowledged return to the controversial fuel subsidy regime.
Defending the administration’s policy, key government spokespersons and the All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed the opposition’s criticisms as politically motivated, insisting that the temporary discount does not draw on public treasury funds or signal a return to blanket subsidies, but serves as an immediate intervention to ease current economic friction for low-income commuters.
