The Federal Government has denied reports circulating on social media that the Ministry of Petroleum has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to sell fuel at N1000 per litre, far above the approved pump price.
The reports claimed that the Minister of Petroleum, Hon. Heineken Lokpobiri, gave this directive, which the government has described as false and malicious.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Nnemaka Okafor, the Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum, dismissed the reports as misleading and intended to cause confusion in the oil industry. Okafor stated, “There was never a time FG interfered with petroleum pricing with NNPCL, let alone give directives for price increment.”
“The Federal Government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Honourable Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price,” Okafor explained.
She further emphasized, “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 recognized as an intentional effort to mislead the public.”
Okafor also clarified that NNPCL operates as an independent entity under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, with its own 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 incorrect and reveals a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector,” she added.
Minister Lokpobiri recently spoke about the challenges of stopping fuel smuggling and pipeline vandalism, highlighting the impact of price differentials.
He said, “If NNPC imports PMS and sells to marketers at perhaps N600 or below, there’s no way that smuggling can stop. When smugglers are taking the products outside the country, even if you put all the policemen on the road, they are Nigerians; you and I know the answer.”
It is important to note that since the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was passed and signed in 2021, NNPC has transitioned from a government entity to a limited liability company.
As such, it no longer takes orders from the Federal Government, and its decisions cannot be influenced by external directives.
