The Federal Government has denied reports circulating on social media about the Ministry of Petroleum ordering NNPCL to sell fuel at N1000.
The reports claimed that the Minister of State for Oil and Gas, Heineken Lokpobiri, directed NNPC to sell fuel at the inflated price.
However, the Minister’s aide, Nnemaka Okafor, has rubbished the reports, stating that they are concocted and ill-conceived.
According to Okafor, the Federal Government has never interfered with petroleum pricing or given directives for price increments to NNPCL.
The statement from the Ministry emphasized that the reports are outright falsehoods aimed at sowing discord and confusion in the oil industry.
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The Ministry categorically condemned the claims as baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent.
According to the statement, NNPCL operates independently under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, with a fully empowered Board of Directors, and the Ministry does not interfere in its internal decisions, including pricing matters.
The statement challenged anyone with evidence supporting the false claims to make it public, stressing that such claims are entirely devoid of truth and intended to mislead the public.
The statement read, “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.
“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.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not, and will not, interfere in the internal decisions of NNPCL, including pricing matters.
“Any suggestion otherwise is not only incorrect but also reveals a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.”
