NNPCL breaks silence, says no intention to hike fuel price

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has finally responded to the widespread worry about a potential increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, at the pump.

The national oil corporation, a major importer of petrol into Nigeria, stated in a post on its official X (previously Twitter) account on Monday at 11:48 p.m. that it has no plans to raise the price of petrol at the pump.

Dear valued customers, NNPCL Retail appreciates your business and would like to clarify that, contrary to popular belief, we do not intend to raise the price of our PMS pumps.

The company urged customers to visit any of its NNPCL Retail locations countrywide to get the highest-quality goods at the most competitive pricing.

The downstream NNPCL subsidiary, NNPCL Retail, retails refined petroleum products for the organisation.

If the dollar stays between N910 and N950 on the parallel market, as oil marketers predicted on Sunday, the price of gasoline will rise to between N680 and N720 per litre in the upcoming weeks.

Additionally, they made hints that the lack of foreign currency needed to purchase PMS was forcing dealers who wanted to do so to postpone their plans.

The naira was trading at over 945 to the dollar on Friday on the parallel market, less than a week after the local currency broke over the N900/dollar ceiling.

Additionally, the oil traders claimed that the official foreign exchange window of the CBN Importers and Exporters, which boasts a lower exchange rate of roughly $740/litre, had remained unliquid and was unable to supply the $25–$30 million needed for the importation of PMS by traders.

In response to a question from our correspondent on Monday, NNPCL spokesperson Garba-Deen Muhammad said he will research the matter and get back to them.

He didn’t respond, though; instead, the business responded on X (previously Twitter) on Monday night.

Additionally, the Nigeria Labour Congress had warned on Monday that if marketers hiked the price of petrol at the pump without ending the ongoing negotiations, its members will go on a statewide strike without giving any prior warning.

Joe Ajaero, the president of the NLC, urged the federal government to stop the depreciation of the naira.

Following the elimination of the fuel subsidy in May, organised labour sought to strike in protest of the soaring cost of goods and services, but the Federal Government was able to obtain a National Industrial Court injunction preventing them from doing so.