The Federal government has denied directing NNPCL to sell petrol at N1000 per litre.
This is coming after it was reported that the Minister of State for Oil and Gas, Hon. Heineken Lokpobiri asked NNPCL to sell fuel above the current pump price and particularly at N1000 per litre.
In a statement on Tuesday, signed by an aide to the minister Nnemaka Okafor, the report was dismissed as false.
The statement said: “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 not only incorrect but also reveals a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.”
