Fuel Crises: Tinubu backs NNPC relief to waive profit margin, sell petrol at landing cost for 30 days

President Bola Tinubu has backed a decision by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to waive its petrol retail profit margin and sell the product at landing cost for 30 days amid the recent surge in global crude oil and petrol prices.

The decision was announced on Thursday by Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, who said the intervention was aimed particularly at supporting vulnerable households and commercial transport operators.

Under the arrangement, NNPC Retail will sell petrol based on its landing cost. For instance, if the company’s landing cost is N1,300 per litre, it will sell the product at the same price.

Oyedele said the decision, backed by President Bola Tinubu, was part of measures being introduced in response to the recent volatility in global crude oil and petrol prices.

He urged other oil marketers to consider similar measures, saying the sharp increase in crude and petrol prices was expected to be temporary.

The minister, however, stressed that NNPC Retail’s decision to sell petrol at cost should not be interpreted as a return to petrol subsidy, which was removed on May 29, 2023.

The Federal Government also announced plans to introduce a N1,350 per litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol.

Oyedele said negotiations were ongoing on the ceiling, under which refiners and importers would absorb costs above the threshold and recover the difference later when crude oil prices or the exchange rate improve.

He said the arrangement was designed to reduce price volatility rather than control petrol prices.

“This is neither a subsidy nor a price control: it is designed to smooth prices over time rather than suppressing them,” Oyedele said.

According to him, the ceiling would be reviewed monthly and adjusted when necessary, with the figures published for transparency.