Atitu, NDC Fault FG,'s 30 - Day Petrol Discount Discount
Atiku, NDC Fault FG’s 30-Day Petrol Discount
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, have faulted the Federal Government's proposed 30-day petrol discount at NNPC stations, describing it as inadequate and politically motivated.
The Federal Government on Thursday announced that NNPC Limited would forgo its retail profit margin and sell petrol at cost for 30 days, with priority for public transporters. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the measure was not a return to subsidy removed on May 29, 2023, but an intervention to cushion global oil price shocks.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, in a statement by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, rejected the plan as a "panic-driven publicity stunt."
"Atiku totally rejects this calendar-scheduled, election-laced subsidy package. Nigerians are not fools to be offered a month of discounted fuel after years of punishing prices and then expected to forget the hardship when the discount expires. This is shameless and heartless," he said.
He queried what happens after Day 31, arguing Nigerians would still face high fuel, transport and food prices, and asked how much motorists would save per litre and whether transporters would reduce fares.
The NDC accused the Tinubu government of bringing back subsidy "through the backdoor," calling it "a sign of a government in free fall."
The Presidency insisted the move is not subsidy, with pump prices currently at N1,355 in Lagos and Rivers and N1,370 in Abuja.
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