NNPC rules out petrol price increase this month

Chidi Ogbuokiri

Despite alleged jackup of pump price of Premium  Motor Spirit (PMS)from N165/liter to N170/liter by some marketers in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it will not increase the price of the profuct  this month.

This came as speculations were rife that NNPC would raise the pump price of the product or return to subsidy in view of the rising price of crude oil in the internationak market.

But the NNPC in a statement Thursday by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, dispelled the speculation, saying the decision not to increase price this month was to allow ongoing engagements with the organised labour and other stakeholders on an acceptable framework that will not expose the ordinary Nigerian to any hardship, to be concluded.

NNPC urged petroleum products marketers not to engage in hoarding of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in order not to create artificial scarcity and unnecessary hardship for Nigerians while giving assurance that it has enough stock of petrol to keep the nation well supplied for about 40 days.

It further called on relevant regulatory authorities to step up monitoring of the activities of marketers with a view to sanctioning those involved in products hoarding or arbitrary increase of pump price.

It would be recalled that the nation’s downstream sector was deregulated in March 2020 with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stating that the prices of petroleum products would be determined my prevailing market forces.