Our reporter/ The federal government on Friday denied increasing the price of premium motor spirit, also called petrol.
Several media reports on Thursday claimed that the federal government quietly approved N185 as the new petrol pump price per litre.
But in statement on Friday by Horatius Egua, his senior adviser on media and communications, Timi Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, said President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any price increase for petrol, as he is sensitive to the plight of the citizens.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any increase in the price of PMS or any other petroleum product for that matter,” he said.
“There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time.
“Mr. President is sensitive to the plight of the ordinary Nigerian and has said repeatedly that he understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate.
Government will not approve any increase of PMS secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The President has not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel.
“This is not the time for any increase in pump price of PMS.”
Sylva said what was playing out was the “handiwork of mischief makers and those planning to discredit the achievements of the president” in the oil and gas sector.
“I appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and law-abiding as the government is working hard to bring normalcy to fuel supply and distribution in the country,” he said.
Petrol scarcity has lingered since November, 2022 with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) revealing that the volume of petrol supplied to marketers by private depots have dropped by about 40 percent.
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