The Young Progressives Party has described the federal government’s recently announced 30-day fuel subsidy, calling it a “discount”, as a temporary measure that fails to address soaring petrol and diesel prices.

The party, in a statement on Thursday by its spokesperson, Egbeola Wale Martins, said the intervention could provide immediate relief to citizens but was not a sustainable solution to the country’s economic hardship.

YPP said Nigerians had continued to grapple with rising fuel and transportation costs, food inflation, declining purchasing power and deteriorating living standards. It questioned the funding mechanism for the fuel price reduction, asking who would bear the cost of the discount and how much it would cost the government.

“If the federal government is effectively subsidising the price of petrol, Nigerians deserve full transparency,” the party said.

The party also questioned whether the intervention aligns with the government’s policy on fuel subsidy removal, saying the government should explain the arrangement’s financial implications.

The YPP said any intervention aimed at alleviating economic hardship should be transparent, sustainable and based on a clear long-term policy framework. It also urged the federal government to increase domestic refining capacity, reduce transportation and energy costs, improve transparency in the petroleum sector and cut the cost of governance.

The party called for policies that stimulate production, create jobs, and improve the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians. YPP said the timing of the 30-day fuel reduction, coming ahead of the 2027 elections, would naturally attract public scrutiny.

It urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to demonstrate that the intervention was designed to provide genuine economic relief rather than serve as a short-term political measure. According to the party, Nigerians deserve sustainable economic relief and policies that restore their purchasing power and dignity.

“The critical question remains: What happens to Nigerians on Day 31?” the party asked.

The YPP acknowledged that the reduction could provide temporary relief to citizens but maintained it would not resolve the structural challenges driving the hardship.

It urged the Tinubu administration to move beyond temporary interventions and implement a comprehensive, sustainable economic policy to address the causes of the current hardship.

(NAN)