Former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 election, Donald Duke, has said he would reduce the price of petrol to about ₦300 per litre if elected president.

Duke made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television's Morning Brief on Monday, while discussing President Bola Tinubu's economic policies and how he would approach the petroleum sector differently if elected in 2027.

The former governor argued that petroleum products for local consumption should be priced based on production costs rather than international market rates.

"The subsidy regime thing — this whole thing is a scam. I'm going to price petroleum products for local consumption at production costs, not at international market costs," Duke said.

He broke down the figures to support his position.

"I'm giving you a production cost of $45, right? The international price — that's $45, including processing, refining, otherwise, it's about $30, and you're selling it back to your own people at 100 and something dollars," he added.

Duke said high petrol prices were placing additional strain on Nigerians, particularly low-income earners, pointing to the gap between fuel costs and the minimum wage.

"You don't want them to breathe, and your people are notably the poorest in the world. They can't afford it. The basic minimum wage is ₦70,000. Your salary will go in just filling a tank of fuel," he said.

Asked what he considered a realistic petrol price under his administration, Duke said he would aim for roughly ₦300 per litre.

"I will try and bring it to about 300 naira. I've told you that it sounds so outlandish, but I've given you the arithmetic," he said.

He explained that his plan would involve setting aside part of Nigeria's crude oil production for domestic consumption while exporting the rest.

"Allocate 600,000 barrels if that's what you consume daily. Allocate that to yourself. The other one million you can sell it," he said.

Nigeria produced an average of 1.68 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to available industry data, while the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority says the country consumes about 60.2 million litres of petrol daily.

Duke said his proposed pricing model would help ease the burden of fuel costs on Nigerians and would form part of his broader economic policy if elected president in 2027.

ID