Nigeria’s fuel relief must not become another subsidy trap

The Federal Government’s decision to offer temporary relief on petrol prices has reopened a difficult question in Nigeria’s economic reform programme. How can the government cushion the effects of rising fuel costs without recreating the fiscal burdens it sought to eliminate through subsidy removal?The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) introduced a discount of ₦66 per litre on October 1, initially for one week, before extending it to October 31.