The Federal Government has refuted recent reports claiming that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to sell fuel at N1000 per liter, well above the approved pump price.
The rumors, which spread rapidly across social media, alleged that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri, had instructed NNPCL to hike the fuel price to N1000 per liter.
However, in a swift response on Tuesday, the government, through a statement signed by Nnemaka Okafor, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, dismissed the reports as false and misleading. The statement clarified that the government has not interfered with fuel pricing or issued any directives for price increases.
“The Federal Government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Honourable Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price,” Okafor said.
She emphasized that the claims were “baseless, malicious, and a deliberate attempt to incite public discontent.” The government also challenged anyone with evidence supporting these allegations to come forward.
The statement concluded by urging the public to disregard the unfounded reports, reiterating the government’s commitment to maintaining transparency and stability in the oil sector.
