The widespread worry about a potential increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, at the pump has finally been addressed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The national oil corporation, a major importer of petrol into Nigeria, stated in a statement that it has no intention of raising the price of petrol at the pump on Monday at 11:48 p.m. on its official X (previously Twitter) profile.
“Dear valued consumers, we at NNPCL Retail appreciate your business and we do not intend to raise our PMS pump pricing, as has been widely reported.
The company urged customers to visit any of its nationwide NNPCL Retail stations to purchase the highest-caliber goods at the most reasonable pricing.
The downstream subsidiary of NNPCL, NNPCL Retail, sells refined petroleum products in retail for the organisation.
Recall that oil marketers had stated on Sunday that if the dollar continued to trade between N910 and N950 on the black market, the price of petrol would rise to between N680 and N720 per litre in the upcoming weeks.
Additionally, they made hints that the lack of available foreign currency was forcing traders who wanted to import PMS to postpone their plans.
The naira sold at over 945/dollar on Friday in the parallel market, barely a week after it exceeded the N900/dollar barrier, when the warning was issued.
The oil traders also said that the CBN Importers and Exporters’ official foreign exchange window, which boasts a cheaper exchange rate of approximately $740/litre, had remained unliquid and was unable to deliver the $25 to $30 million needed for the importation of PMS by traders.
On Monday, when our correspondent questioned NNPCL spokeswoman Garba-Deen Muhammad if the oil company will raise petrol prices as predicted by dealers, he was told that he would have to check and get back to him.
But instead of responding, the business responded on X (previously Twitter) at midnight on Monday.
Additionally, marketers who hiked the price of petrol at the pump without ending the present negotiations were warned by the Nigeria Labour Congress on Monday that their members will go on a statewide strike without giving any prior warning.
Joe Ajaero, president of the NLC, warned the federal government to stop the naira’s depreciation.
After the termination of the fuel subsidy in May, organised labour tried to go on strike in protest of the soaring cost of goods and services, but the Federal Government was able to obtain an order from the National Industrial Court prohibiting them from doing so.
