Former Cross River Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party PRP, Mr Donald Duke, has pledged to reduce the price of petrol to about N300 per litre if elected president in 2027.

Duke made the pledge during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, where he outlined how his administration would approach the petroleum sector differently.

He said petroleum products meant for domestic consumption should be priced based on the cost of production rather than international market prices.

According to him, Nigeria should allocate a portion of its crude oil production for domestic refining and sell the remaining volume internationally.

Duke said the approach would enable Nigerians to benefit from the country’s crude oil resources while reducing the pressure of high fuel prices on households and businesses.

“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 argued that Nigeria should allocate about 600,000 barrels of crude oil daily for domestic consumption if that reflected the country’s needs, while selling the remaining production commercially.

Duke said Nigeria’s crude oil should not be priced for domestic consumers in the same manner as crude sold on the international market.

He maintained that the current pricing approach was placing an excessive burden on Nigerians, particularly low-income earners, whose incomes were being consumed by rising transportation and energy costs.

The former governor said his proposal would form part of a broader economic strategy aimed at making energy more affordable and improving productivity.

Available industry data indicates that Nigeria produced an average of about 1.68 million barrels of crude oil per day, while the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority estimates daily petrol consumption at about 60.2 million litres.

Duke said his proposed model would ensure that Nigeria derived greater domestic economic benefits from its crude oil resources while maintaining international sales of the remaining production.

He is among opposition politicians positioning themselves for the 2027 presidential election, with economic hardship and the cost of living expected to remain major issues in the campaign.