Paul Ibe, an aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has given reasons why the effect of the Federal Government's 30-day petrol discount cannot be felt nationwide.
According to him, NNPC lacks enough filling stations to ensure the policy's positive effect spreads nationwide.
Ibe said this after presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga described the Federal Government's 30-day petrol discount at NNPC filling stations as a margin discount, meaning the retailer chooses to take a smaller margin, or no margin at all, for a period and passes the savings to the customer.
According to Onanuga, the policy differs from a fuel subsidy because the retailer alone bears the cost of the discount.
Reacting, Atiku's aide said Nigerians need relief, not semantics from the Tinubu administration, which seems more interested in winning an argument over terminology than addressing Nigerians' suffering.
He said, "Call it a margin discount or a subsidy. What matters to ordinary Nigerians is whether petrol becomes affordable and whether the relief reaches everyone.
"We welcome any genuine reduction in petrol prices, especially after the hardship inflicted by the Tinubu administration's economic policies. But relief must be fair, accessible and sustainable.
Citing some facts for consideration, Ibe said Nigeria has approximately 22,681 filling stations. NNPC operates over 900 outlets, representing roughly four per cent of the nationwide retail network. He noted that NNPC's estimated retail market share was 17% in 2024.
"Even more troubling, NNPC's own July 2026 report showed petrol availability across its retail network at just 52%.
"How does the government propose to provide meaningful nationwide relief through a network with such limited geographical coverage and documented supply challenges?
"What happens to Nigerians who have no NNPC station in their communities? Must they travel long distances, spending money they do not have, to benefit from a government-backed discount?" he asked.
Atiku's aide pointed out that this selective approach risks repeating the inequalities of the electricity Band A, B and C arrangement, where access to services and the burdens borne by consumers differ depending on where they live.
"Petrol affordability must not become another postcode lottery.
"Besides, whether NNPC is foregoing its retail margin or government is directly subsidising consumers, the fundamental point remains: the Tinubu administration has finally acknowledged that market forces alone cannot protect Nigerians from unbearable petrol prices.
"The Tinubu government is attempting to address a nationwide petrol affordability crisis through a retail network representing only about four per cent of Nigeria's filling stations. Nigerians deserve more than a 30-day experiment.
"Atiku's production-based subsidy offers a more sustainable approach: reduce costs at the point of production so that the benefits can travel through the wider distribution network.
"You cannot solve a nationwide affordability crisis with a narrowly targeted discount. Nigerians need cheaper petrol everywhere, not cheaper petrol somewhere, and certainly not for just 30 days.
"From every indication, Tinubu is walking back to the opaque subsidy regime that he claimed was gone for good," he said.
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