By Deborah Hassan
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has directed relevant regulatory authorities to ensure that petroleum products marketers do not arbitrarily increase pump price of fuel on the premise of products scarcity.
365Daily reported on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, that some marketers had begun selling premium motor spirit at 170 naira per litre in Lagos and surrounding states, citing non availability of products.
In reaction, NNPC, in a press release issued by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru same Wednesday, asked the regulatory agencies to sanction any marketer found involved in products hoarding or arbitrary increase of pump price.
It warned petroleum products marketers to desist from hoarding of petrol in order not to create artificial scarcity and unnecessary hardship for Nigerians, while giving assurance that it has enough stock of petrol to keep the nation well supplied for about 40 days.
It added that in spite of the rise in the price of crude oil in the international market, NNPC will not increase the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in February, 2021.
The statement explained that the decision was to allow ongoing engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders on an acceptable framework that will not expose the ordinary Nigerian to any hardship, to be concluded.
It would be recalled that the nation’s downstream sector was deregulated in March 2020 with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stating that the prices of petroleum products would be determined my prevailing market forces.