Presidency Calls Atiku's Politics "Shallow" as Petrol Discount Row Deepens; Marketers Raise Pump Prices
Atiku and Obi question what happens after the 30 days, while the NLC's two-week ultimatum runs to about 23 October.
FG Cuts Petrol Price at NNPC Stations for 30 Days. NLC Fires Back With a Two-Week Ultimatum
Photo: THISDAY
On Thursday, 8 October, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele unveiled a 10-point package aimed at easing petrol prices. Headline measures: a 30-day discount on petrol at NNPC stations nationwide, with priority for public transporters, and a negotiated ceiling of N1,350 per litre on the ex-gantry price, reviewed monthly.
Other items include a National Strategic Fuel Reserve, faster CNG rollout, removal of illegal levies, forward sales of crude to domestic refineries and a possible excess profit tax on operators. Oyedele insists it is neither a subsidy nor price control: "Pump prices should not have to follow every swing in global crude or the exchange rate." He blamed a Middle East conflict now in its eighth month, with Brent above $100 a barrel.
Labour isn't impressed. The NLC, in a communique signed by president Joe Ajaero, gave government two weeks from 9 October to return petrol to 2024 levels, and wants minimum wage talks to begin before the end of October.
The opposition is also swinging. Atiku Abubakar called the discount temporary and election-driven. The ADC campaign council called it a pre-election bribe: "Nigerians will reject your one-month bribe." Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga has dismissed reports of a returning subsidy as fake news.
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Sources: THISDAY · NaijaNews headlines roundup, 9 Oct 2026
