Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has pledged to reduce the price of petrol to about N300 per litre if elected president in 2027.
Duke said the proposed reduction would be achieved by changing the pricing model for petroleum products consumed domestically, arguing that Nigerians should not pay international market prices for locally produced crude oil.
The former governor made the promise on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, where he criticised the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and outlined his proposed approach to the petroleum sector.
Duke described the current subsidy arrangement as unsustainable, arguing that petrol for domestic consumption should be priced based on production costs rather than international benchmarks.
“The subsidy regime thing—this whole thing is a scam. I’m going to price petroleum products for local consumption at production costs, not at international market costs,” he said.
He argued that the cost of producing and refining crude oil for domestic consumption was substantially lower than the international benchmark currently used in determining petrol prices.
“I’m giving you a production cost of $45, right? The international price—that’s $45, including processing, refining, otherwise, it’s about $30, and you’re selling it back to your own people at 100 and something dollars,” he said.
Duke said the high cost of petrol had deepened economic hardship across the country, particularly for low-income earners whose incomes are increasingly consumed by transportation and energy costs.
“You don’t want them to breathe, and your people are notably the poorest in the world. They can’t afford it. The basic minimum wage is 70,000 naira. Your salary will go in just filling a tank of fuel,” he said.
Asked how much petrol would cost under his administration, Duke said his government would target a pump price of about N300 per litre.
“I will try and bring it to about 300 naira. I’ve told you that it sounds so outlandish, but I’ve given you the arithmetic,” he said.
The presidential hopeful said the policy would involve allocating part of Nigeria’s crude oil production specifically for domestic consumption, while the remaining output would be sold internationally.
“Allocate 600,000 barrels if that’s what you consume daily. Allocate that to yourself. The other one million you can sell it,” he said.
According to Duke, such an arrangement would allow Nigerians to benefit more directly from the country’s crude oil resources and insulate domestic petrol prices from fluctuations in the international market.
He also maintained that reducing the cost of petrol would help ease the pressure on households and businesses and contribute to a broader reduction in the cost of living.
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