The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Thursday dismissed rumours around a planned hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol.
A statement by Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, on Thursday said there were no plans to increase the price of petroleum product.
NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, offered clarifications to statements credited to the NNPC GMD during his interaction with Senate President, Ahmed Lawan.
Ughamadu noted that Mallam Kyari had observed at the event that the huge disparity in the pump price of petrol between Nigeria on the one hand and her neighbouring country, on the other hand, tended to encourage cross-border leakages, as he sought the support of the leadership of the National Assembly to curb the malaise of smuggling.
He advised Nigerians from all walks of life to disregard the insinuation of a planned hike in the price of petrol by NNPC, saying statutorily, NNPC was not even in a position to regulate the price of petroleum products, advising that “NNPC role as an operator must be differentiated from that of any of the Industry regulators.”
The NNPC spokesperson stated that as directed by relevant agencies of the Government, the pump Price of petrol remains N145 per litre.
