Nigeria, Oct. 9 -- The Federal Government, in its infinite capacity for performative benevolence, has once again graced the public with a policy that raises infinitely more questions than answers.



The headline reads like a triumph: NNPC Retail will forgo its margin and sell discounted petrol at cost for 30 days, prioritizing public transport operators.



Alongside this, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele has announced negotiations over a N1,350-per-litre ceiling on petrol's landing or ex-gantry cost, where refiners and importers will absorb immediate shortfalls and recover them when market conditions permit.



The government has wrapped these interventions in technocratic jargon "price modulation," "landing-cost ceilings," and "strat...