We Are Not Responsible For Fresh Fuel Price Hike – FG

The Federal Government has declared that it bears no responsibility for the recent increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) better known as fuel or petrol.

Recall that on Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced an increase in the cost of petrol at the pump.

The price of fuel has gone up from N897 per liter in Abuja to N1,030; from N855 to N1,998 in Lagos; N1,070 in the North-East; N1,025 in other states of the South-West; N1,045 in the South-East; and N1,075 in the South-South regions.

However, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has stated that the decision by NNPCL was not swayed by the Federal Government.

The Minister clarified that the NNPCL took this step due to the current situation in the energy sector, highlighting that it was not a result of any directive from the Federal Government. He mentioned that the government is no longer able to set the prices of petroleum products as per the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He added that since the subsidy system was discontinued in May 2023, the NNPCL had been paying a differential to maintain the price within a certain range. However, the company has reached a point where it can no longer cover these losses.

“The differential you’re seeing is a result of different factors. One of them is the crisis in the Middle East. There’s volatility in the market. Therefore, the prices of petroleum products are going up, consistent with what is happening with other operators in the industry globally.

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“Secondly, NNPC cannot continue to absorb these losses for Nigeria because as a limited liability company, it would be operating at a loss,” he said.

The Minister appealed to Nigerians to understand the situation, assuring that prices would eventually decrease.