Despite NNPC’s reluctance to increase the price of Premium motor spirit (PMS) in Nigeria, Observations has shown that Petroleum marketers are already beginning to adjust the pump price of petrol to ₦170 per litre from between ₦161 and ₦165.
Although this observation was only noticed around some parts of Lagos and parts of Ogun State, prices remain largely unchanged in Abuja and parts of Nasarawa, Niger States and other states.
Read Also: Fuel Hike: The Hypocrisy Of Soyinka, Adeboye, Bakare, Et Al
However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has insisted there was no increase yet in the price of petrol. NNPC’s spokesman, Dr Kennie Obateru told newsmen that the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a marketing arm of NNPC, which fixes the ex-depot price of the petrol had not changed the old ex-depot price of ₦155.17 set since November 2020.
He also said the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) was best suited to address the issue of the new retail price.
He was however silent on how much the corporation was paying on under-recovery considering the rise in crude oil price, which had pushed the landing cost to N180/litre.
When contacted to respond to the possibility of having a new price band of a litre of petrol, the PPPRA spokesman, Apollo Kimchi declined to comment.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK