FG reacts to claims on increasing fuel costs as Dangote commences production

• The federal government has stated that NNPC Ltd was not given an instruction to hike the price of petroleum to N1,000
• According to a statement, the Petroleum Resources minister (oil) said there was no instruction to manipulate prices
• He made it clear that NNPC Ltd.'s internal choices are not and will not be influenced by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) was not given an order to raise the price of petroleum to N1,000, the federal government has said.

FG said any allegation that the price of fuel rises is wholly untrue and ought to be seen as a deliberate attempt to deceive the people. Photo Credit: FG, Wirestock
Source: Getty Images

The Special Advisor for Media and Communication, Nnemaka Okafor, released a statement on Tuesday on behalf of Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state petroleum resources (oil), stating that he did not provide instructions to NNPC Ltd. or any other company in the industry to manipulate prices.

“The Federal Government has been compelled to address the outright falsehood and malicious claims currently circulating on social media. We categorically condemn these claims as baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent.

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“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 recognised as an intentional effort to mislead the public,” he said.

He clarified in a Daily Trust report that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not and will not meddle in NNPC Ltd.'s internal decisions, particularly those pertaining to pricing, and that the company functions as an autonomous corporation under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), with a fully authorized Board of Directors.

Any other notion, in his opinion, is not only false but also shows a serious ignorance of the unregulated status of Nigeria's petroleum industry.

What Nigerians should do

He advised the public to dismiss these malicious rumors.

“Any claim to the contrary is nothing more than an ill- conceived attempt to sow discord and confusion.“We urge all Nigerians to remain vigilant and rely solely on information from verified and official channels,” he said.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the retail stations owned by NNPC Ltd. changed their pump price on Tuesday, selling for N897 per litre instead of N617.

NNPCL Increases Petrol Price by 37%

Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol to N855 per litre at its retail stations and N897 per litre at stations owned by independent marketers.

The hike represents a 37% increase from N620 and N630, approved last year.

The increase has yet to be officially confirmed by the NNPC, as Legit.ng calls to the NNPC spokesman went unanswered, and he did not reply to messages seeking clarification on the issue.

Source: Legit.ng