NNPC increases petrol price to N855 per litre | FG denies approving adjustment

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has increased the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets.

TheCable, on Tuesday, observed that the price of the product was increased to N855 per litre — from about N600 — at an NNPC filling station in the Berger axis of Lagos.

Another outlet operated by the oil firm around Awolowo road in Ikoyi, Lagos, also dispensed at N855 as seen here.

The upward adjustment comes amid a petrol scarcity which has strained business activities nationwide.

In a statement on September 1, national oil firm linked the  shortages to its inability to sustain petrol supply due to a $6 billion debt it owes suppliers.

TheCable also observed that the price of AA Rano filling station in Karshi, Abuja, was increased to N900 per per litre.

The Mobil filling station on College Road, Ogba, Lagos also raised its price N868.

Media reports on Tuesday attributed the price adjustment to a directive of the federal government asking the NNPC to sell at N1,000.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister for petroleum resources (oil), said the ministry never gave the national oil company such a directive.

Lokpobiri, in a statement signed by Nnemaka Okafor, his media aide, said reports of price directive were “ill-conceived to sow discord and confusion in the oil industry”. 

“The Federal Government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price,” the statement reads.

“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 recognised 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, with a fully empowered Board of Directors.”

Lokpobiri said the ministry does not, and will not, interfere in the internal decisions of NNPC, including pricing matters.

The minister said the reports suggesting different perspective are incorrect and also reveal a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

On August 26, Lokpobiri had said petrol smuggling persists in Nigeria because the NNPC sell below the landing cost.

Prior to this, Umar Ajiya, the chief financial officer (CFO) of the NNPC, on August 20, said the company was selling petrol at only half the land cost.

Before the latest adjustment, the official pump price of petrol was about N600/litre but the landing cost is around N1,200.