Federal Government of Nigeria says the arbitrary increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, across its retail outlets, is an attempt to sabotage the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
On Tuesday, NNPC announced a hike in the pump price, fixing the new price at N897 per liter.
In the days proceeding Tuesday, there had been acute scarcity of petrol across the county.
At virtually all filling stations across the country, there were long queues of motorists as seen.
They waited endlessly to buy fuel because there was either a lack of the product or speculations of a likely official increase in pump price.
But on Tuesday, shortly after NNPC announced the increase and its retail outlets adjusted the price, Nneamaka Okafor, the Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum, issued a damning statement.
The statement signed on Tuesday,
September 3, said the Federal Government has denied ever approving such price increase.
Vehemently, the statement labeled the report of the increase in pump price as a fabrication that is designed to create discord and confusion within the oil industry.
The statement reads: “There was never a time FG interfered with petroleum pricing with NNPC, let alone give directives for price increment.
“The Federal Government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Honourable Minister for Petroleum
Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price.
“We categorically condemn these claims as baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent.
“We challenge anyone in possession of any evidence it written documents, audio, or video recordings-that supports these
fabrications to make it public.
“Such a claim is entirely devoid of truth and should be recognized as an intentional effort to mislead the public.
“It must be stressed that NNPCL operates as an independent entity under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), with a fully empowered Board of Directors.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not, and will not, interfere in the internal decisions of NNPCL, including pricing matters. Any suggestion otherwise is incorrect and reveals a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.”
