Petrol prices: what the N66 discount and the N1,350 ceiling mean for you

What happened

NNPC Limited began selling petrol at N66 a litre below its pump price on October 1 to mark the country’s 66th Independence anniversary. On October 8, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele announced a 30-day discount at NNPC stations “in the first instance”, with priority for public transport operators. He said NNPC would sell the fuel at cost, giving up its retail margin.

The next day, NNPC spokesperson Andy Odeh said the discount would run until October 31 at NNPC Retail stations nationwide. An NNPC notice reported by Vanguard had given October 14. NNPC said the discount was not a return of fuel subsidy and did not set a uniform national pump price.

The discount applies only when customers pay through the NNPC Fuel App, according to news reports and staff at NNPC stations in Abuja. At those stations in mid-October, that meant paying N1,339 a litre through the app instead of N1,405 at the pump, Tribune reported.

At the same October 8 briefing, Oyedele said the government was negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 a litre on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol: what it costs when it leaves a refinery or arrives by import, before transport and retail costs are added. If costs rise above the ceiling, refiners and importers would absorb the difference at first and recover it later. He called this “price modulation”, not a subsidy or price control, and said the ceiling would be reviewed monthly and the figures published.

Why it matters

Petrol prices affect transport fares and the cost of moving goods. The discount reaches only people who buy at NNPC Retail stations and can use the app. Commercial drivers and other motorists have complained that this leaves out people without smartphones or data.

Some reports described N1,350 as a new pump price. It is not: the ceiling would cap the cost of petrol before it reaches filling stations, and pump prices would still include transport and retail costs. The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) has rejected the plan, saying price caps are not the solution to the market’s problems.

The pressure on prices is also political. The Nigeria Labour Congress gave the government two weeks from October 9 to bring petrol prices back to where they were when the current N70,000 minimum wage became law in 2024, and to start new minimum wage talks. The International Monetary Fund has advised against restoring a blanket subsidy and recommended targeted help, such as support for bus fares, instead.

What happens next

NNPC has not said what will happen to its prices after October 31. The N1,350 ceiling has not been finalised, and no date has been given for the first monthly review.

NLC says the next government–labour meeting is on October 27 after talks ended without agreement on October 22. It has asked affiliates to prepare for possible action; its relevant organs will decide the next step if talks produce no meaningful progress. No strike date was announced in the statement.

We will update this explainer if the discount is extended or ends, when the ceiling is agreed, and if NNPC’s pump prices change.

Sources: NNPC Limited, Federal Ministry of Finance briefing (reported by Channels Television, Punch and Daily Trust), Tribune, Legit.ng, Nigeria Labour Congress communiqué, IMF.