NNPCL Denies Plans To Increase Fuel Price
- As NLC threatens nationwide strike without warning if prices go up
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has broken its silence over the widespread anxiety of a possible hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.
The company, posted around 11:48pm on Monday on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, that the national oil firm and major importer of petrol into Nigeria, had no intention to increase the pump price of petrol.
NNPCL wrote: “Dear esteemed customers, we at NNPCL Retail value your patronage, and we do not have the intention to increase our PMS pump prices as widely speculated.
“Please buy the best quality products at the most affordable prices at our NNPCL Retail stations nationwide”.
The NNPCL Retail is the downstream subsidiary of NNPCL that retails refined petroleum products for the group.
The anxiety started when the oil marketers on Sunday disclosed that the cost of petrol would rise to between N680/litre and N720/litre in the coming weeks should the dollar continue to trade from N910 to N950 at the parallel market.
The oil marketers explained that dealers seeking to import PMS were being forced to put the plans on hold due to the scarcity of foreign exchange to import the commodity.
The oil marketers lamented that the CBN Importers and Exporters’ official window for foreign exchange, which boasts of a lower exchange rate of about $740/litre, had remained illiquid and unable to provide the $25m to $30m required for the importation of PMS by dealers.
However, when asked, NNPCL spokesperson Garba-Deen Muhammad said if the oil company raises petrol prices as predicted by dealers, a notice will be given.
Recalled, the Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, had on Monday warned that its members would commence a nationwide strike without any formal notice if marketers increased the pump price of petrol without concluding the ongoing negotiations.
