Nigeria petrol pricing proposals by political candidates

Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the Accord Party presidential candidate, has proposed a new framework for petrol pricing in Nigeria to stabilize costs. He argues that current fuel prices are artificially inflated by the Federal Government’s domestic crude oil pricing and accounting structures, characterizing the existing subsidy debate as “accounting magic.”

Olawepo-Hashim initially suggested a starting sustainable price of ₦605 per litre, noting that if production costs are optimized and the exchange rate is stabilized, prices could eventually drop to between ₦200 and ₦300 per litre. He contends that these reductions could occur without reducing government revenue or allocations to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

In further detailing his proposal, Olawepo-Hashim cited Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) data indicating a production cost of approximately $30 per barrel. He calculated that a sustainable pump price of around ₦605 per litre—which would not exceed ₦610—could be achieved by accounting for the actual costs of refining, transportation, and insurance, while including a ₦100 energy tax to fund alternative energy sources.

Other political candidates have also proposed aggressive price reductions for the 2027 elections. Adewole Adebayo, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, has pledged to reduce the prices of petrol, cooking gas, and aviation fuel to ₦200 per litre within one year of taking office. Adebayo intends to achieve this by rehabilitating existing refineries and fostering modular refinery operations. His plan involves restoring a subsidy arrangement where 450,000 barrels of crude oil are reserved for domestic consumption, using revenue from the sale of other derivatives to equalize prices.