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Federal government denies ordering NNPC to increase fuel price
The Federal Government has denied reports that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase fuel price to N1,000 above the approved pump price.
The Federal Government has denied reports that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell fuel at N1,000 above the approved pump price.
The report claimed that the Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, gave the NNPCL the directive.
On Tuesday, the Federal Government, through Nnemaka Okafor, Special Adviser to Minister Heineken Lokpobiri, issued a statement dismissing the report as a “malicious fabrication aimed at sowing discord and confusion in the oil sector”.
The statement read, “The Federal Government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price.”
The government described the report as “baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent.”
It challenged anyone with evidence to support the claims to make it public.
“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.”
The government emphasized that NNPCL operates independently under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, with a fully empowered Board of Directors.
It stated that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not interfere in NNPCL’s internal decisions, including pricing matters.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not, and will not, interfere in the internal decisions of NNPCL, including pricing matters. Any suggestion otherwise is not only incorrect but also reveals a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.”