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Daud Olatunji
The Federal Government has warned that restoring petrol subsidy could cost Nigeria more than N20 trillion annually, as a human rights organisation, the Talakawa Parliament, rejected the administration’s proposed 30-day petrol discount and demanded the immediate return of subsidy.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, gave the warning on Thursday during a press briefing in Abuja on the rising cost of petrol and renewed calls for subsidy restoration.
But hours after the minister’s announcement, the Talakawa Parliament, an Edo State-based human rights organisation, dismissed the government’s proposed 30-day intervention as inadequate, describing it as another short-term palliative that would do little to address the economic hardship caused by high fuel prices.
In a statement signed by its representative, Marxist Kola Edokpayi, the group declared: “We do not need a 30-day petrol discount — return to the subsidy regime now.”
The group argued that Nigerians require a sustainable solution to rising transportation costs, food prices, inflation, unemployment and declining purchasing power, rather than a temporary reduction in petrol prices.
Oyedele, however, said Nigeria currently consumes about 50 million litres of petrol daily, stressing that returning petrol to its pre-2023 subsidy price would cost the government more than N20 trillion every year.
He said even a proposal to sell petrol at N500 per litre under a subsidy arrangement would cost the government more than N16 trillion annually, before accounting for increased consumption and smuggling.
The minister said such expenditure would consume resources needed for other government responsibilities, including salaries, pensions, schools, hospitals and security.
“Amounts of that size are nearly everything the Federation Account shared among all three tiers of government in 2025,” Oyedele said.
Talakawa Parliament rejects 30-day relief
The Talakawa Parliament said the proposed 30-day discount could not address what it described as the underlying economic crisis confronting millions of Nigerians.
According to the organisation, the removal of petrol subsidy had imposed an “unbearable burden” on workers, students, pensioners, traders, farmers, small business owners and other vulnerable Nigerians.
It said rising petrol prices had increased transportation costs and triggered further increases in essential goods and services.
“Families are struggling to afford daily meals, workers are spending a significant portion of their wages on transportation, and small businesses are being forced to reduce their operations or shut down entirely because of the rising cost of fuel and electricity,” the group said.
The organisation urged the Federal Government to abandon what it called temporary palliatives and adopt measures capable of providing sustained economic relief.
“Government must listen to the people and adopt policies that genuinely improve their lives rather than offer short-term palliatives that provide temporary relief while leaving the underlying crisis unresolved,” it said.
