The Federal Government has stated that it is not responsible for the recent hike in petrol prices across the country, as it blamed the development on oil marketers.
It would be recalled that on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited notified members of the public that petrol would no longer sell at N165 per litre, which was the officially approved price.
According to the state-owned oil corporation, due to several factors, the commodity would henceforth sell differently in various parts of Nigeria.
So, while it was expected to sell at N179 per litre in the northcentral region, filling stations in Abuja were directed to sell at N174.
More so, in what appeared to be the highest in the adjustment, petrol would now sell for N184 per litre in the northwest and N189 in the northeast.
Ruling out criticism that the FG increased the prices, Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said it was the oil marketers’ idea, and not the government as widely claimed.
When asked about the disparity of petrol prices across the country, Sylva refused to talk on it, but promised to bring up the matter.
The minister also maintained that the petrol prices increment doesn’t mean that the FG had stopped subsidising the commodity.
“Well, I can tell you authoritatively that we have not deregulated. The government is still subsidising, if there are increases in the price it is not from the government, it is probably from the marketers.
“But, of course, I will talk to the NMDPRA’s chief executive to ensure that they actually regulate the prices. But this is not from the government because we have not deregulated,” he added.
