Federal govt rejects petrol price increase by PPPRA

The federal government of Nigeria, through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has rejected the increase in the pump price of petrol as put forward by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

The agency announced on its website that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly referred to as petrol, could now be dispensed for between N209.61 and N212.61 per liter, in line with prevailing market fundamentals.

Following backlash and uproar from Nigerians across all social media platforms, the PPPRA deleted the pricing template from its website and followed up with a statement to say it only issued a pricing advisory in line with its mandate to monitor market trends and report accordingly.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Sylva, has issued another statement to say neither he nor President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the decision to increase the retail price of petrol to N212 per liter.

"Cynicism and deceit have never been the trademark of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari," Sylva says.

"Neither Mr. President who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources, nor my humble self who deputise for him as Minister of State, has approved that the pump price of petrol should be increased by one naira. I would therefore urge you to disregard this misleading information.

"I would like to equally assure you that the engagement with organised labour and other stakeholders will continue even as the calculations to arrive at a reasonable price regime are being done; all in good faith, and you will be availed of the final outcome at the appropriate time.

"Until then, all marketers are strongly advised to maintain the current pump price of PMS before the emergence of this unfortunate information.

"In conclusion, I want to sincerely apologise to all Nigerians for any distress and inconvenience the unfortunate information might have caused."

The NNPC has also rejected claims that it has endorsed a new petrol pricing regime.

You can read the minister's full statement below:

Dear Nigerians, you are by now very aware of the news trending that the federal govt has increased the price of petrol to N212.6 per liter.

Irrespective of the source of that information, I want to assure you that it is completely untrue. Neither Mr. President who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources, nor my humble self who deputise for him as Minister of State, has approved that the pump price of petrol should be increased by one naira. I would therefore urge you to disregard this misleading information.

You are all aware that for the past few months the govt has been in consultation with organized labour to find the least painful option to respond to the global rise in the price of crude, which in turn has inevitably led to increase in the price of PMS. It is unthinkable that govt would unilaterally abandon these discussions and act in the manner suggested by the information under reference.

Cynicism and deceit have never been the trademark of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

I would like to equally assure you that the engagement with organized labour and other stakeholders will continue even as the calculations to arrive at a reasonable price regime are being done; all in good faith, and you will be availed of the final outcome at the appropriate time.

Until then, all marketers are strongly advised to maintain the current pump price of PMS before the emergence of this unfortunate information. Those who may want to take advantage of this unfortunate misinformation to extort Nigerians should not give in to such temptation as there are regulatory mechanisms that govt can enforce to protect its citizens.

In conclusion, I want to sincerely apologise to all Nigerians for any distress and inconvenience, the unfortunate information might have caused.

Thank you,

Timipre Sylva

hmspr.

12.03.2020