Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal Government has strongly refuted reports suggesting that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell fuel at ₦1,000 per litre, a price significantly above the approved pump price.
The allegations, which gained widespread attention on social media, claimed that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, instructed the NNPCL to increase fuel prices to ₦1,000 per litre. However, in a swift response on Tuesday, Nnemaka Okafor, the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, issued a statement debunking these claims.
“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 (NNPCL) to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price,” the statement read.
Okafor emphasized that the reports were “baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent” within the oil industry. She assured the public that the government has not interfered with petroleum pricing at NNPCL, nor issued any directives for price increases.
“We categorically condemn these claims and challenge anyone in possession of any evidence—be it written documents, audio, or video recordings—that supports these fabrications to make it public,” Okafor added.
The government’s response aims to quell the confusion and unrest sparked by the false report, reaffirming its commitment to transparency and maintaining stability in the oil sector.