The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has defended the Federal Government’s new fuel price cap and relief package, saying Nigeria is acting like more than 115 other countries that have moved to shield citizens from the fallout of the Middle East conflict.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group said the measures show the administration understands the global cost of living crisis.
“We are aware that over 115 countries have moved fast in recent weeks to introduce measures to cushion the effects of the Middle East conflict on fuel prices,” the group said.
It listed Germany, Spain, Greece, India, Pakistan, Australia, Mozambique and Kenya among countries that have introduced similar price caps and discounts.
It added that the United States, which is central to the regional tensions, is also working on measures to bring down fuel prices at home while negotiating an end to the crisis.
The group said the Nigerian package includes a month-long fuel discount and a wider price cap that will be reviewed monthly.
It also covers increased funding for cash transfers to the most vulnerable households, subsidised credit for small businesses and consumers, and faster deployment of CNG buses and infrastructure in partnership with states.
Other measures include an excess profit tax aimed at those found guilty of price gouging, and enhanced tax relief for low-income earners under the 2027 Finance Bill.
To guard against future supply disruptions, the government will also invest in a National Strategic Fuel Reserve to release refined products into the market and reduce price volatility, without fixing prices or reintroducing subsidy.
TMSG rejected claims by some opposition figures that the package marks a return of fuel subsidy, which they had vowed to restore if elected. It described the measures as temporary relief to ease the effects of the ongoing conflict.
The group also criticised politicians who praised similar steps abroad but attacked the Tinubu administration’s measures.
It singled out Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who has called the move a pre-election gimmick but praised Germany days earlier over its 90-day, 17-cent per litre discount.
“What the Nigerian government announced is of a larger scale than Germany’s,” the group said.
TMSG maintained that the measures do not amount to a return of subsidy. It cited Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele, who has stressed that a marginal discount for a short period, borne by a retailer, is not subsidy in any form.
The group said the government is not drawing from public coffers or the federation account to cover part of what motorists pay at filling stations, and that the discount will not be funded from the federal budget.
It said the same applies to the price ceiling the government is negotiating with refineries and importers.
“We urge Nigerians to see the measures in the light of what other countries are doing to provide temporary relief to their citizens pending the return to normalcy in the Middle East,” the statement said.
