Nigeria Negotiates ₦1,350 Ceiling on Petrol Input Cost

Nigeria is negotiating a ceiling of ₦1,350 per litre on petrol’s ex-gantry or landing cost, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said at a briefing in Abuja on Thursday. The proposal would have refiners and importers carry costs above the threshold and recover the difference later, rather than pass every increase through immediately. Oyedele described the mechanism as price modulation, not a subsidy or price control. The government is negotiating the arrangement; the briefing accounts do not establish that it has been finalized or implemented. The proposed ceiling applies to the cost at the refinery gate or point of import, and does not establish a limit on the pump price paid by motorists. The minister said the arrangement is intended to moderate sharp price fluctuations linked to international oil prices and exchange-rate movements. Under the proposal, refiners and importers would absorb costs exceeding ₦1,350 per litre and recoup them later when conditions are more favourable. The terms and timing for any recovery were not detailed in the accounts of the briefing. Oyedele also announced plans for forward sales of crude oil to domestic refineries.