Lobby for Petrol Pump Price Increase will Fail, Says NNPC

• Assures of a 1.3billion litres stockpile

Joseph Ushigiale

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said the federal government will reject the current lobby to increase the current pump price of the premium motor spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, advising Nigerians not to engage in any panic buying of petroleum products.

The corporation’s spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement monitored on The Cable last night, dismissed the report of a likely increase in the price of the products.

He said the corporation had a 1.3billion litres stockpile of petrol, which would be sufficient to serve the nation for more than 38 days.

“This plea comes on the heels of reports that some motorists have begun panic buying of petrol, following rumours that the government is about to increase the pump price of the white product from N145 per litre,” the statement read.

It said: “NNPC wishes to assure Nigerians that there is no iota of truth in the rumour that government is scheduled to adjust pump price of petrol.

“Indeed, with the resumption of production by the Corporation’s three refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri, complemented by imports, there is enough stock of petrol, aviation fuel, diesel and kerosene.”

Ughamadu said Anibor Kragha, NNPC’s chief operating officer of the refineries, explained the state of refineries to lawmakers when he appeared before the senate on Wednesday.

“Mr. Anibor Kragha briefed the senate committee on petroleum downstream in a presentation on the current status of the refineries at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja,” he said.

“In the presentation, Kragha told the legislators that the nation’s three refineries produced additional volumes of 4.6 million litres of kerosene and 7.7 million litres of diesel, in addition to millions of litres of petrol being refined daily at the nation’s refineries.

“The assurances of availability of stock by the NNPC Chief Operation Officer of the Refineries yesterday still stand.”