The Federal Government has strongly denied a report alleging that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase fuel prices by N1,000 above the approved pump price.
The report, which claimed that the directive came from the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has been dismissed as false. In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Nnemaka Okafor, the FG condemned the report as a fabrication intended to create discord and confusion within the oil industry.
The statement emphasized that at no point did the Federal Government interfere with petroleum pricing decisions made by NNPCL, let alone issue directives for price increases.
“The Federal Government feels compelled to address the blatant falsehoods currently circulating on social media, which allege that Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), instructed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices beyond the approved pump price,” the statement read.
The FG categorically condemned the claims as baseless and malicious, challenging anyone with evidence—be it documents, audio, or video recordings—to make it public. The statement underscored that NNPCL operates as an independent entity under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, governed by a fully empowered Board of Directors.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not interfere in the internal decisions of NNPCL, including pricing matters,” the statement continued, adding that any suggestion otherwise is a clear misunderstanding of the deregulated nature of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
