Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde says Nigeria should change how it sets petroleum product prices, arguing that the public focus on whether to restore or remove fuel subsidy misses the core problem.
In his latest newsletter, Makinde argues that the key issue is identifying the right pricing framework for an oil-producing country like Nigeria. He calls for greater transparency in the factors used to determine pump prices, including crude oil price benchmarks, refining costs and margins, exchange-rate assumptions, logistics and distribution costs, and taxes and levies. He also says Nigeria should adopt a method suited to domestic crude allocation and local production realities, with deeper refinery reforms to reduce reliance on imports and exposure to foreign-exchange volatility.
On the debate over smuggling, Makinde rejects the view that Nigerians should pay higher fuel prices to deter cross-border diversion. He instead argues that citizens should not bear the cost of the government’s border enforcement challenges. While outlets agree on the substance of his proposal, they frame it mainly as a call to move beyond the subsidy/removal binary, with Makinde promising his administration will put forward an alternative petroleum pricing position for public assessment.
