Nigerians shouldn’t pay more for petrol over border failures — Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has rejected the idea of increasing petrol prices as a way of making fuel smuggling to neighbouring countries less attractive.

Makinde argued that Nigerians should not be forced to shoulder the consequences of inadequate border controls, insisting that the government’s responsibility to secure the country’s borders should not be transferred to consumers through higher pump prices.

“We should also reject the argument that Nigerians must pay more for petroleum products simply to eliminate the price difference that makes smuggling into neighbouring countries profitable,” Makinde said.

“Nigerians should not be made to bear the cost of government’s inability to secure its borders.”

The governor made the remarks in the September 2026 edition of his newsletter, The Business of Governance, while questioning the broader framework used to determine the price of petroleum products in Nigeria.

He said the national conversation on petrol pricing should move beyond the familiar argument over whether fuel subsidy should be restored or permanently removed.

Instead, Makinde said the central question should be whether Nigeria has adopted a pricing model that is appropriate for an oil-producing country and capable of ensuring that citizens receive a fair share of the country’s natural resources.

He called for greater transparency in the components used to arrive at the pump price of petrol.

According to him, Nigerians should be able to see the crude oil benchmark, refining costs and margins, exchange-rate assumptions, logistics and distribution expenses, taxes and levies used in calculating the final price.

Such disclosure, he said, would give citizens the opportunity to scrutinise the pricing structure and determine whether the cost of petrol is justified when compared with available alternatives.

Makinde linked the petroleum pricing controversy to what he described as deeper structural problems confronting Nigeria.

He said the country’s difficulties could not simply be blamed on individual political office holders, arguing that weak institutions, systems and structures had continued to produce unsatisfactory outcomes regardless of who was in government.

It was against this backdrop that he promoted his proposed “Reset Nigeria” movement, which he said would focus on rebuilding the country’s institutions and systems.

The initiative, according to the governor, would address areas including the economy, security, education, governance institutions and the country’s broader social and political order.

Makinde also acknowledged that achieving such a transformation would require more than a change in leadership.

He said accountable leaders and an active citizenry would both be necessary to drive the process, adding that rebuilding Nigeria would not happen overnight or depend on a single individual.

“Reset Nigeria means being willing to interrogate the system itself,” he said.

The governor disclosed that he would present his alternative to the existing petroleum pricing framework in the coming weeks, saying Nigerians would then have the opportunity to examine and judge the proposal.

“The petroleum question should therefore not simply be whether subsidy should return or remain removed. It should be whether the pricing system we are using is the right one for Nigeria and whether it allows Nigerians to derive a fair benefit from the natural resources they own,” Makinde said.