The Federal Government of Nigeria has refuted a report alleging that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources instructed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase the price of fuel to ₦1,000 per litre.
In a statement released on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, Nnemaka Okafor, the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, dismissed the report as false and misleading.
Okafor stated that the claims were “baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent.” He emphasized that the Federal Government has not and will not interfere with 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,” the statement read. The government also challenged anyone with evidence supporting these claims to make it public.
The statement further clarified that NNPCL operates as an independent entity under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, and any suggestion of government interference in its pricing decisions is incorrect and misleading.
