Nigeria is considering capping petrol prices at about 1,350 naira ($1.02) per litre as the Government moves to ease the impact of record fuel costs on consumers.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said on Thursday, October 8, that refiners and fuel importers could be required to absorb temporary price increases and recover their losses when costs decline.
The Government also plans to introduce a 30-day programme under which petrol will be sold at cost, with public transport operators receiving priority. Other proposals include forward crude sales to domestic refiners to stabilise feedstock prices and limit exposure to fluctuations in global oil markets.
Mr Oyedele said energy companies found to be profiteering could face a windfall tax, with the revenue used to fund transport subsidies and fuel vouchers for low-income urban workers.
The measures follow a surge in global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, which has renewed cost-of-living pressures on President Bola Tinubu’s Government ahead of elections in January 2027.