NNPC extends N66 petrol discount to October 31, debunks subsidy return
The NNPC has extended its N66-per-litre petrol discount until October 31, clarifying the move is a customer relief initiative, not a subsidy return. Read More:…
Since the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023 under President Bola Tinubu, pump prices have remained a politically sensitive issue, with periodic price adjustments drawing public scrutiny over whether subsidy payments have quietly returned through the back door. NNPC Ltd, Nigeria's state-owned oil company, has since the subsidy removal positioned itself as a commercial entity setting prices in line with market forces, while occasionally rolling out promotional discounts at its retail stations.
The latest discount extension comes as Nigerians continue to grapple with high fuel costs and their knock-on effects on transport fares and food prices. NNPC's insistence that the N66 reduction is a limited-time customer relief measure rather than a subsidy appears aimed at pre-empting concerns about the fiscal cost of the move and avoiding comparisons to the subsidy regime scrapped in 2023. Both Punch and Vanguard report the extension and the company's denial in similar terms; neither report details the cost of the discount to NNPC, how it is being funded, or the specific stations and regions covered by the offer.