The federal government has disclosed that the recent fuel price hike noticed by Nigerians on Friday wasn’t approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipreye Sylva made the submission in his reaction to the increase in the pump price of petrol witnessed by Nigerians across the country on Friday morning.
The Minister urged Nigerians to disregard the pricing template published by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) which pegged the new pump price of petrol at N212.61 per litre.
He stated further that there would be no increase in the pump price of petrol until the conclusion of talks with the organized labour in the country.
“Irrespective of the source of that information, I want to assure you that it is completely untrue,” Sylva declared.
“Neither Mr President who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources nor myself who deputize for him as minister of state has approved that petrol price should be increased by one naira.”
“I, therefore, urge you to disregard this misleading information,” he added.
The Minister also noted that the government is currently discussing with labour leaders and other stakeholders on the best price regime to be adopted which will be reasonable.
The government is currently engaging with “organised labour and other stakeholders will continue even as the calculations to arrive at a reasonable price regime are being done; all in good faith and you will be availed of the final outcome at the appropriate time,” he said.
He thereafter apologized to Nigerians for the impact the false information has caused.
It will be recalled that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced late Thursday that the retail price for a litre of petrol for the month will be between N209.61 and N212.61.
According to the PPPRA, the ex-depot price, which is the amount sold by fuel depot owners to marketers, will be N206.42, while the landing cost stands at N189.61 per litre.
But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has insisted that there is no increase in the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol this month.
However, some fuel stations visited by Naija News correspondent on Friday have already adjusted their pump price per litre to N212 while those yet to do so have been besieged by consumers trying to fuel their car and avoid paying the high price.
