Nigeria: Presidency Forecloses Return of Petrol Subsidy, Backs NNPCL's Target of N1,350 Petrol Cost Ceiling

What the report says

The Nigerian Presidency said on Thursday that the Bola Tinubu administration does not plan to restore the petrol subsidy that was removed more than three years ago. Instead, it said it is backing a set of measures intended to soften fuel-price pressures while keeping the broader deregulation reforms in place, according to This Day, which was republished by AllAfrica.

Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s retail arm will forgo its profit margin and sell petrol at cost for a period, with the move expected to begin within 30 days. He also said the government is negotiating a ceiling on petrol landing or ex-gantry costs, and that any shortfall above that level would be handled later by refiners and importers rather than through a return to blanket subsidies. The statement also referred to forward sales of crude oil to domestic refineries as a way to reduce exposure to global price swings.

The Presidency said the package goes beyond fuel pricing and includes efforts to reduce transport, logistics and other costs that feed inflation. These include tighter enforcement around road levies, expanded cash transfers, more subsidised credit, faster deployment of compressed natural gas, and possible excess-profit taxes on firms seen as exploiting consumers. It also mentioned a national strategic fuel reserve to help manage future disruptions.

The government framed the approach as a way to protect households and transport operators from volatility without reviving what it described as an unsustainable subsidy regime. As context, Nigeria has faced repeated fuel-supply and pricing crises in past subsidy periods, and officials say the current policy is meant to avoid a return to those pressures while stabilising the market.