Petrol should not sell above N610, can drop to N200 per litre, says Accord Party candidate

Accord Party presidential candidate Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim says petrol will not sell above N610 per litre under any government he leads, and could fall to as low as N200 if Nigeria fixes production costs and stabilises the naira.

He made the pledge for the 2027 general elections, describing N605 per litre as his administration's starting sustainable price, not a subsidised one. He also promised an exchange rate target of between N525 and N700 to the US dollar, with no reduction in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements.

N200 target and the N610 ceiling

Olawepo-Hashim said his government would cap petrol prices at N610 per litre, but the price could fall much lower once Nigeria's cost structure is corrected.

"N605 per litre is our starting sustainable price for petrol. Nobody will buy petrol above N610 under our government. It could be as low as N200," he said.

The candidate, who has consistently opposed the way petrol subsidy removal was handled, argued that Nigeria has never properly established what it actually costs to produce and deliver a litre of petrol to the domestic market.

Forensic audit and production costs

He described previous justifications for subsidy removal as "accounting magic," saying the government compared domestic prices against international benchmarks rather than real production costs.

"Any time you sell a product above its legitimate cost of production, refining, transportation and insurance, you cannot call the difference between that price and an international benchmark a subsidy loss. That is opportunity cost. Show Nigerians the books. Publish the production cost. Publish refinery cost. Publish transportation. Publish insurance. Publish every margin. Let the data speak," he said.

Hashim called for an independent forensic audit covering crude production, refining, procurement, contracting, transportation, storage, pipeline operations and distribution, with all figures published openly.

He argued that Nigeria's relatively high production costs, compared with other major oil-producing countries, deserve serious scrutiny, pointing to factors such as inflated contracting, operational inefficiency and insecurity.

"Before asking Nigerians to pay more, government must first explain why it costs so much to produce our own oil. If the cost is genuine, show us the evidence. If it is inefficiency, corruption or inflated contracting, fix it," he said.

Exchange rate and government revenue

The Accord candidate said his pricing framework rests on two variables: getting production costs right and achieving exchange rate stability. His administration would target a naira rate of between N525 and N700 to the US dollar, which he said would bring down the naira cost of petroleum inputs across the board.

He was firm that cheaper petrol would not mean a poorer government.

"We are not going to make petrol cheaper by making government poorer. Nigeria does not have to choose between affordable petrol and government revenue. We can have both. But we must stop using accounting to hide inefficiency and start using economics to build prosperity," he said.

He added that lower energy costs would cut transportation and manufacturing expenses, raise household purchasing power and ultimately grow the tax base from which government earns revenue.

Depot prices already rising

The comments come as Nigerian motorists face fresh pressure at the pump. Petroleum depots, including the Dangote Refinery, announced increases in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) prices this week. Market data shows depot prices shifted across multiple locations, with some recording rises of as much as N30 per litre.

Filling station operators are likely to review their retail prices to cover higher acquisition costs.