- Safiu Kehinde
The Minister of State for Oil and Gas, Heineken Lokpobiri, has denied ordering Nigeria National Pretroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase fuel price.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to the minister, Nnemeka Okafor.
Reacting to claims of Lokpobiri ordering the inflation of fuel price, the minister denied the alleged engagement in the price increment.
He labelled the claim as ‘baseless and malicious’ while stressing that the NNPCL is an independent entity that makes its own decision without interference from the ministry.
The statement read, “The Federal Government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price.
“We categorically condemn these claims as baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent. We challenge anyone in possession of any evidence-be it written documents, audio, or video recordings-that supports these fabrications to make it public.
“Such a claim is entirely devoid of truth and should be recognised as an intentional effort to mislead the public. It must be stressed that NNPCL operates as an independent entity under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, with a fully empowered Board of Directors.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not, and will not, interfere in the internal decisions of NNPCL, including pricing matters. Any suggestion otherwise is not only incorrect but also reveals a profound misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.”