Fuel Price: Donald Duke Proposes ₦700 Per Litre, Says ₦300 Target May Be Unrealisti
The presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party, Donald Duke, has argued that Nigeria spends more on securing crude oil than producing it, blaming high security expenses and deteriorating infrastructure for increased production costs and expensive petrol. Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, the former Cross River State governor said crude oil production costs between $12 and $15 per barrel, but security expenses and poor infrastructure could push the figure to between $25 and $45. Duke maintained that reducing the cost of producing and refining crude oil would help lower petrol prices and improve living conditions. He said his original proposal was to reduce petrol to ₦300 per litre, not ₦200, but acknowledged that existing crude oil commitments under the current APC-led government could make that target unrealistic. According to him, a price benchmark of ₦700 per litre would still be preferable to ₦1,300, particularly if the government secured available domestic crude oil and purchased additional supplies from producers operating in Nigeria to reduce transportation costs.
Duke proposed contract refining, under which the government would supply crude oil to refineries, pay an agreed processing fee and retain ownership of the refined products and their by-products. He argued that revenue from other petroleum products could help reduce the final cost of petrol, adding that blending available crude supplies could still bring prices below current levels. Duke also rejected concerns that cheaper domestic petrol would automatically encourage smuggling into neighbouring countries, suggesting that the government could dye fuel to make Nigerian petroleum products identifiable across borders. He said security and intelligence agencies could then work with neighbouring countries to investigate how the specially coloured fuel entered their markets. Duke maintained that government policies should prioritise citizens’ productivity by addressing the high cost of energy and other essential goods and services.
#UTVAfrica#
