We didn’t approve increase in petrol price — FG reacts to fuel scarcity
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has said that there’s no increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
The minister insisted amid the jump in the pump price above N200 per litre across the states of the federation.
The Informant247 observes that the increase in the pump price lingers despite the payment of subsidy by the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
The minister also falsified the report which emanated last Thursday that the Federal Government officially inflated the price of petrol to N185 per litre from N170 per litre and ex-depot price from N148 per litre to N167.
The minister said the president has not confirmed any increase in the price of PMS.
The minister’s spokesperson, Horatius Egua, in a statement on behalf of the minister said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any increase in the price of PMS or any other petroleum product for that matter. There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time. Mr. President is sensitive to the plights of the ordinary Nigerian and has said repeatedly that he understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate.
“Government will not approve any increase of PMS secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The President has not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel. This is not the time for any increase in pump price of PMS.
“What is playing out is the handiwork of mischief makers and those planning to discredit the achievements of Mr. President in the oil and gas sector of the economy. I appeal to Nigerians to remain calm and law abiding as the government is working hard to bring normalcy to fuel supply and distribution in the country.”
