The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Tuesday dismissed as untrue plans to increase the petroleum pump price.
The dismissal came 24 hours after the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, stated in Lagos that Corporation can no longer sustain the sale of petrol at N145 per litre.
The Group General Manager Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammed, who spoke in Abuja, stated that any fuel pump increase would come from Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA).
Kyari, who spoke in Lagos on the need to increase fuel pump price, stated that with the current price of foreign exchange, it was no longer feasible selling petrol at N145 per litre.
He said: “We have a very difficult business environment. It is impossible today to import products at the current market price.”
But reacting to this, Garba Deen said: “The statement was made within the context of technical terms and not downstream operations. But the bottom-line is that there is absolutely no plans by government to increase fuel price above the N145 per litre maximum level.
“If there is going to be anything like that the agency responsible for fixing price – the PPPRA will definitely communicate to Nigerians and give reasons why that will happen but as at this moment there is absolutely no plan to do that and no need to do that because we have more than enough supply.
“We also have long term procurement contracts with our suppliers and the usual reasons that will necessitate any review of price at the moment have been well taken care of. We have long term contract and enough stock.”
“We also have long term procurement contracts with our suppliers and the usual reasons that will necessitate any review of price at the moment have been well taken care of. We have long term contract and enough stock.”
