Donald Duke says he would target a ₦300 petrol price if elected president in 2027, arguing that affordable fuel is vital to Nigeria’s economy
Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party presidential candidate Donald Duke has said he would target a petrol price of about ₦300 per litre if elected president in the 2027 election.
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Duke made the proposal on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, while appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he discussed his economic priorities and the issues he believes should shape the presidential contest.
Asked what he considered a realistic petrol price under his administration, Duke responded: “Try and bring it to about ₦300.”
The former governor argued that fuel affordability is closely linked to economic productivity, saying government has a responsibility to create conditions in which citizens can work and businesses can operate effectively.
“I’ve said severally that the function of government is to ensure the productivity of their citizens within a safe and orderly environment. Fuel drives your economy. It should be available. It should be affordable,” he said.
Duke’s proposal comes as petrol prices remain a major issue in Nigeria’s 2027 political conversation following the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023.
Channels Television reported in September that petrol was selling at around ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja and as much as ₦1,500 in parts of northern Nigeria, placing fuel prices firmly among the economic issues likely to feature prominently in the election campaign.
Rather than framing the 2027 election solely around replacing the All Progressives Congress, Duke said opposition parties needed to first establish a shared understanding of where they wanted to take the country.
“The objective shouldn’t be to move the APC and replace it with another person. First of all, the real objective is: where are we taking Nigeria to? We must have a common vision,” he said.
The PRP candidate also questioned whether the Independent National Electoral Commission would be able to convince Nigerians that the 2027 election would be free and fair.
Duke said public confidence in the electoral body had weakened and argued that INEC had the responsibility to demonstrate that adequate measures were in place to protect the credibility of the polls.
“The onus is on them, INEC, actually to convince Nigerians that there will be free and fair elections. Nigerians have become very cynical and sceptical of INEC, and I’m one of them,” he said.
Duke is among the presidential candidates preparing to contest the 2027 election, alongside President Bola Tinubu and other opposition contenders.
Channels Television reported that Duke was among the presidential candidates who signed the National Peace Accord ahead of the campaign season.
His comments add the proposed reduction of petrol prices to an increasingly prominent campaign debate over how Nigeria should manage fuel costs, economic reforms and the pressures facing households.
Whether the proposed ₦300 price could be achieved would depend on the policy framework, market conditions and other economic factors under any future administration.
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Duke, however, presented affordability as a central part of his stated approach to improving productivity and easing economic pressure.
