On Tuesday, the Federal government debunked reports making the rounds on social that it pegged petrol price at N1,000 per litre.
News About Nigeria reports that the social media report claimed that the federal government, through the Ministry of Petroleum asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell fuel at N1000 per litre which is above the approved pump price.
Reacting to this claim in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum, Nnaemaka Okafor, which was released on Tuesday morning, the ministry distanced itself from such claims, noting that it was concocted and ill-conceived to sow discord and confusion in the oil industry.
It further clarified that the ministry has never and will never interfere in the internal affairs and decisions of the NNPCL.
The statement partly reads, “There was never a time FG interfered with petroleum pricing with NNPCL, 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—be 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.”
