Duke Urges Nigeria to Rethink Petrol Subsidy Approach

On 14 September 2026, Donald Duke, the former governor of Cross River State and the 2027 presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), cautioned Nigeria against adopting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescriptions regarding petrol subsidy. He argued that developed economies also subsidize essential sectors to protect their citizens.

Duke emphasized that Nigeria should leverage its crude oil resources to provide affordable energy and stimulate economic production. He stated that the fundamental issue is not the subsidy itself but the pricing of crude oil for domestic consumption at international market rates.

Duke explained that Nigeria requires approximately 300,000 barrels of crude daily for domestic use from an estimated production of 1.7 million barrels. He suggested that crude supplied for domestic refining should be priced based on production costs, with a reasonable margin added, rather than being benchmarked against international prices.

Duke advocated for affordable energy as a means to drive Nigeria's economy.