FG DISTANCES ITSELF FROM PETROL PRICE HIKE AND BLAMES GLOBAL MARKET INSTABILITY

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The Federal Government has stated that it is not to blame for the recent increase in petrol pump prices, following massive calls from Nigerians for President Bola Tinubu to reverse the increase.

Yesterday, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, raised the pump price of petrol from N897 per litre to N1,030 in Abuja and from N855 to N998 in Lagos.

Speaking to journalists, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) made the decision in response to global oil market conditions.

According to Idris, the federal government no longer controls petroleum product prices under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“The NNPCL made this choice based on market realities, not government instructions. Since the subsidy was removed in May 2023, NNPCL has absorbed the price differential to maintain the current range, but the company has now reached the point where it can no longer support those losses,” Idris added.

He also linked the price increase to external reasons such as the continuing Middle East conflict, which has increased market instability. “The prices of petroleum products are rising globally, and NNPCL, being a limited liability company, cannot continue to operate at a loss,” he explained.

The minister appealed for public understanding, saying that despite the immediate difficulties, petrol prices would soon stabilise and fall.