The NNPC says there are no plans to hike the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol
The NNPC says current realities on ground don’t support any increase The NNPC has denied rumours that there are impending plans to increase the pump price of petrol across the country.
Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, October 25, the group general manager, group public affairs division of the NNPC, Muhammad Garba-Deen, said there was absolutely no plan by the federal government or the NNPC to increase fuel price above the current price of N145 per litre. His words:
“As per this moment, there is absolutely no plan to do that and no need to do that, because we have more than enough supply; we have very robust stock of product in our custody. In addition to that, we also have long term procurement contract with our suppliers. “The usual reason that would necessitate a review of price at the moment had been taken care of.
We have long term procurement contract with our suppliers; we have more than enough supply to last us throughout the ember months and beyond.
“The statement people are referring to was made within the context of technical explanation, not within the context of downstream operations.”
He also urged Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of the product due to the rumours.
Garba-Deen also took to his Twitter page to inform Nigerians yesterday that "No plan to increase fuel price. Current N145/ltr ceiling sustainable by NNPC due to long term procurement contract.No panic Drive with care"
Speaking on the country’s refineries, Garba-Deen said they had returned to production, although he added that they are producing below their installed capacity at present. “The refineries had returned to production, but it has been on an on-and-off kind of thing. They are back. Port Harcourt has been producing and so is Kaduna. “Challenges will always come, because the refineries have been working for a long time.
Long term repairs are also in the making. You know about the plans to co-locate some new refineries within the existing one and upgrade these ones. “By the time these ones are done, which would probably be by 2018, then the refineries would be producing at optimal capacity. Now it is an on and off thing, they are producing, but not to the capacity that is expected,” he concluded.
The rumours were sparked off by Mele Kyari, the group general manager, crude oil marketing department of the NNPC. While speaking at the 10th Oil Trading and Logistics Africa Downstream Week in Lagos state on Monday, October 24, Kyari told his audience that the sale of petrol at N145 per litre was no longer sustainable with the current price of foreign exchange.
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