Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has promised to reduce the price of petrol to about N300 per litre if elected president in 2027.
Duke made the promise in an interview Wednesday, October 7, where he discussed the country’s current petrol pricing system and outlined his proposed alternative.
He argued that Nigerians should not pay international market prices for crude oil produced locally, saying domestic petroleum products should instead be priced according to their production costs.
Duke explains proposed petrol pricing plan
The former governor criticised the current subsidy arrangement and described it as unsustainable.
Duke said, “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 also argued that the cost of producing and refining crude oil for domestic consumption was considerably lower than the international benchmark used in determining petrol prices.
Explaining how his administration would achieve the proposed reduction, Duke said, “Allocate 600,000 barrels if that’s what you consume daily. Allocate that to yourself. The other one million you can sell it.”
Duke says petrol could sell for N300
Duke said the high cost of petrol had increased the financial burden on Nigerians, particularly workers whose income was being consumed by transportation and energy expenses.
He said, “You don’t want them to breathe, and your people are notably the poorest in the world. They can’t afford it.”
Asked directly how much Nigerians could pay for petrol under his administration, Duke replied, “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.”