Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has said he would seek to reduce the pump price of petrol to about ₦300 per litre if elected president in 2027.
The former Cross River State governor made the statement on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
Speaking on how he plans to achieve the proposed reduction in fuel price, Duke said: “I will try and bring it to about ₦300. It sounds so outlandish, but I have given you the arithmetic because if you allocate 600,000 barrels, if that is what is consumed daily, allocate that to yourself; the other 1,000,000 you can sell,” Duke said.
Duke also explained that he would take a different approach to President Bola Tinubu’s policies if elected, particularly on the pricing of petroleum products for local consumption.
“I won’t inherit his policies; you know, for me, productivity is everything, as I said, within a safe and orderly environment,” he said.
Speaking about fuel subsidy, the PRP candidate described the current system as a “sc@m” and said petroleum products would be priced based on production costs rather than international market prices.
Explaining his position on the cost of petroleum production and the price Nigerians currently pay, Duke said:
“The subsidy regime thing, this whole sc@m…I’m going to price petroleum products for local consumption at production cost, not at the international market because that’s so far rigid. It sounds too simple and basic, but it’s so deep because you have been given a production cost of $45, the international price.
“That’s $45, including processing, refining; otherwise, it is about $30, and it’s sold back to your own people at $100 and more. You don’t want them to breathe, and your people are known to be the poorest in the world; they can’t afford it.
Speaking further about the impact of fuel prices on workers and the minimum wage, Duke said: “The basic minimum wage is 70,000; will your salary go in just filling a tank of fuel or some fuel? So, we have got to look at it,” Duke said.
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