The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has hiked the pump price of petrol from N1,370 to N1,405 per litre, reversing a recent price cut amid criticism over the Federal Government’s controversial fuel discount scheme.
Checks on NNPCL filling stations on Friday showed the new pricing was in effect after the pump attendants were informed of the adjustment on Thursday, reports said. The increase translates to N35 per litre while the state-owned oil firm has not officially revealed the cause of the adjustment.
The new increase comes just days after NNPCL cut the pump price to N1,370 per litre on Monday, after a previous increase to N1,405. The move has further muddied the waters over petrol pricing and thrown doubt on the implementation of the discount offered by the government.
The Federal Government’s decision of a 30-day petrol discount at NNPCL retail stations to cushion the impact of rising global crude oil prices has generated controversy. The minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the action was not a return to subsidy but a temporary relief measure.
“NNPC Ltd said in a statement that the discount is “a customer relief measure and does not indicate the reinstatement of petroleum subsidy.” The discount, launched on October 1 in celebration of Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, would be available till October 31 at all its retail stations across the country, the business stated.
However, the discount was exclusively for users using the NNPCL gasoline app and paying digitally, with the price effectively set at N1,339 per litre. The pump price at NNPCL retail outlets remained N1,405 per litre, but app users got the N66 per litre discount, said the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC, Andy Odeh.
The deal has also been attacked by opposition politicians and economists. Former Vise President Atiku Abubakar said the government had turned the discount into a “political spectacle,” asking if the decision was approved by the board of the NNPCL and how the company would absorb the cost. The Nigeria Labour Congress described the N66 discount as “miserly” and the requirement for the app as “restrictive and diversionary.”
Economists cautioned the ephemeral nature of the intervention could lead to stockpiling and scarcity once the discount expires. “The limitation of the discount to 30 days may create an opportunity for petroleum dealers to buy and hoard products during the period, only to sell them after the discount expires,” stated Vise President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu.
The recent price revision also follows Oyedele’s announcement of a proposed set petrol gantry price of N1,375 per litre before the presidential election on January 16 2027. A gantry price is the price at which petroleum products are sold to marketers at depots before transportation and other costs are added.
It is not clarified by the company on how the projected gantry pricing relates to NNPCL’s retail price as the company has not addressed the current change. Motorists are again left in the dark about fuel prices as the gap between government talk and pump pricing grows even wider.
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