The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said price of petrol won’t be increased as speculated on the internet.
Group general manager, group public affairs division of NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Okay.ng understands that there were media reports of alleged plans to increase pump price after Mele Kyari, group managing director of the NNPC, visited Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday.
During the visit, Kyari said it is very difficult to make fuel available at N145.
Ughamadu in the statement clarified that the statement of the GMD did not suggest any plan to increase the price of the white product.
He noted that Kyari had observed at the event that the huge disparity in the pump price of petrol between Nigeria on the one hand and her neighbouring countries, on the other hand, tended to encourage cross-border smuggling
This, according to Ughamadu, was why the NNPC boss sought the support of the leadership of the National Assembly to curb the malaise of smuggling.
The oil firm advised Nigerians to disregard the insinuation of a planned hike in the price of petrol by NNPC.
It stated that statutorily NNPC was not even in a position to regulate the price of petroleum products, adding that the corporation’s role as an operator must be differentiated from that of any of the industry regulators.
Ughamadu stated that as directed by relevant agencies of government, the pump price of petrol remains N145 per litre.
NNPC cautioned petroleum products’ marketers not to sell petrol above N145 per litre following the disclaimed rumour.
It advised Nigerians to remain vigilant and volunteer information to the Department of Petroleum Resources, the industry regulator, or to any law enforcement agency around them, on any station which sells petrol beyond N145 per litre.
