No plans to increase petrol price -NNPC assures Organised Labour, others

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has assured Organised labour and Nigerians that there will be no increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as Petrol in the month of February.

The corporation gave the assurance in a statement signed by its spokesman Dr Kennie Obateru in Abuja, on Thursday.

“In spite of the rise in the price of crude oil in the international market, NNPC has ruled out any increment in the ex-depot price of PMS in February 2021,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ex-depot price is the price at which oil marketers buy products from the depot.

The price determines the price at which they sell to motorists at their various petrol stations.

Obateru explained that the decision was to allow ongoing engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders on an acceptable framework that would not expose the ordinary Nigerian to any hardship.

He urged petroleum products, marketers, not to engage in the hoarding of PMS in order not to create artificial scarcity and unnecessary hardship for Nigerians.

He further gave the assurance that the corporation had enough stockpile of petrol to keep the nation well supplied for about 40 days.

He also called on relevant regulatory authorities to step up monitoring of the activities of marketers with a view to sanctioning those involved in products hoarding or arbitrary increase of pump price.

NAN reports that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, in March 2020 announced that the nation’s downstream oil sector had been deregulated. With the announcement, the prices of petroleum products would be determined by prevailing market forces.