Reactions have continued to trail the Tinubu government’s introduction of a 30-day fuel discount, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Makinde Campaign Organization, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adeboye, and the president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, questioning the move.
A Panic-Driven Publicity Stunt
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day fuel discount, describing it as a desperate and temporary gesture that cannot address the hardship caused by high fuel prices.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of attempting to use a temporary fuel discount as a political response to the worsening cost-of-living crisis.
The former Vice President’s reaction followed the Federal Government’s announcement on Thursday that it would offer a discount on petrol dispensed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for an initial 30 days.
The measure is part of a fresh package of interventions announced by the government to cushion the impact of high fuel prices on Nigerians and stabilise pump prices.
Announcing the measure at a press briefing in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the discount was not a subsidy but an arrangement by the government to sell the petrol at cost.
But Atiku said the government had watched Nigerians endure severe hardship without providing meaningful relief, accusing the administration of offering temporary relief as the 2027 elections approach.
“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 described the 30-day discount as “not an economic plan but a political bandage on a wound the government had helped create.”
“What happens on Day 31? Nigerians wake up to the same brutal prices, the same punishing transport fares and the same rising cost of food. The government cannot manufacture relief for one month and expect Nigerians to applaud while the hardship remains,” he said.
Atiku also questioned the scope of the intervention, noting that it is limited to NNPC stations. He said the government had yet to state how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings for transport operators would be passed on to passengers through lower fares.
The ADC presidential candidate further described the government’s move as a reversal of its previous position on relief measures, saying it amounted to an admission of the severity of the hardship Nigerians had endured.
“This volte-face proves that the production-support proposal I have advanced is workable, achievable and not complicated. The Tinubu government and its spin doctors have tried to make it sound impossible, yet they are now reaching for a temporary subsidy-style intervention because the pain has become impossible to ignore,” Atiku said.
He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that the benefit reaches consumers while supporting local refining.
“Nigerians need lasting relief, not a countdown to the return of hardship. Tinubu’s government cannot spend years telling Nigerians to endure, then offer 30 days of relief and call it a solution,” he said.
Atiku restated his commitment to making life more affordable for Nigerians.
A ‘Failed Media Stunt’ — Makinde Camp
The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organization (MDPCO) has also rejected the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount, describing the measure as a “deceitful and failed media stunt.”
The campaign group of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde, said the discount announced by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration was inadequate, arguing that Nigerians expected a more significant reduction in the price of petrol.
The Federal Government had announced a 30-day discount on petrol dispensed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), with priority for public transporters nationwide.
Announcing the measure on Thursday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the arrangement was not a subsidy but an attempt by the government to sell petrol at cost.
“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.
But the MDPCO, in a statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, described the discount as an “offensive and provocative attempt to beguile Nigerians.”
The organisation said the measure amounted to a “slap on the face” of Nigerians who were expecting an impactful reduction in petrol prices.
It questioned why, in its view, the administration had made what it described as significant increases in petrol prices but was now offering what it called a “teeny N60” reduction.
The group also criticised the decision to limit the discount to a 30-day period, arguing that the temporary measure would not provide lasting relief to Nigerians.
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.
The campaign organisation also faulted the Federal Government’s proposal to sell crude oil to domestic refineries at a dollar-denominated rate, describing the arrangement as “distasteful and offensive to our status as an oil producing nation.”
Adewole, Osifo question move
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adeboye, and the president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, questioning the move.
Adewole and Osifo both featured as guests on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, hours after the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, announced the 30-day window.
While expressing concerns over the policy design and its implementation, Adewole dismissed the Federal Government’s move, describing it as uncoordinated.
“I watched the announcement video, but there is no actual plan behind it—so I cannot even tell whether it is a formal policy or just a political gesture,” the SDP chieftain said on the show. “It immediately reminded me of the 1990s television series *Fuji House of Commotion*. What they presented is essentially ‘Tinubu’s House of Commotion.’ It makes no sense whatsoever.”
According to him, the 30-day fuel discount window does not have legal backing and structural clarity, which ultimately raises questions about the funding model.
“Besides the NNPC, none of the people seated there belong in that decision. The NNPC is supposed to be a limited liability company with its own independent management,” Adewole said. “Second, there is no designated account established under the Ministry of Finance to handle petrol discount subsidies. Third, a 30-day window is not a short-term policy—it is a flash in the moment, lacking short-, medium-, or long-term vision. Furthermore, they did not cite a single law authorising what they are doing.”
He cautioned against artificially trying to slash petrol prices without addressing production costs.
“If you want to lower petrol prices, you do not adjust the retail selling price out of thin air—you adjust the cost of production,” he said. “It is a tragedy for a country when the person positioned to coordinate our economy reduces his thinking to the level of a petrol station attendant giving out discounts. A fuel attendant’s level of intellect cannot manage monetary and fiscal policy. What I have repeatedly advised them to do, and what I would do as President, is allocate crude oil explicitly for domestic consumption.”
Joining the debate, Osifo faulted the framing of the policy, insisting that despite the term used, any move to cap the price of fuel is a subsidy.
“You and I know very well that whenever you cap the price of any product – whether that cap will be high or that cap will be low – it is a subsidy in one form or the other.”
The TUC chief said past governments have used “fancy” terms to mask fuel price interventions.
He explained that “when the gantry price is more than ₦1,350—let’s say it’s ₦1,500—and the government is taking off that cost of ₦150, you’re actually subsidising the product, so it’s actually a subsidy.”
The Federal Government announced the policy to cushion the cost of fuel across the country. According to Oyedele, the move is not a subsidy, describing it as an arrangement by the government to sell the petrol at cost.
“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; the government is just saying we sell to you at cost,” the Minister said.
He said that the Federal Government is targeting a ₦1,350-per-litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol.