President Bola Tinubu has assured the Nigerians that the government will not increase the pump price of petrol in the country.
He emphasized that there will be no further price hikes, and that any claims to the contrary are false.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, made this known in a statement made available to journalists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
This announcement was made in response to speculation and rumors about a possible increase in the price of petroleum at the pump, from the current rate of N617 per litre to between N720 and N750 in the near future.
Recall in respond to the remour, The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, had on Monday warned that it would embark on an indefinite strike in the event of another petrol price hike by the NNPC Limited.
Reacting to the threat by the organized Labour, President Tinubu noted that the organised Labour’s threat of an unannounced strike was premature in light of the developments.
The presidential aide said it was incumbent on all stakeholders to hold their peace and endeavour to do due diligence to assertain the true position of things.
He said the President was intent on maintaining competitive tension to ensure that no single individual or organisation dominated the sector.
Ngelale said the goverment will address the ineficiencies in the midstream and downstream petroleum value chains so that the price can be stabilised.
Ngelale said “Secondly, Mr. President wishes to assure Nigerians following the announcement by the NNPC limited just yesterday that there will be no increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit anywhere in the country.
“We repeat, the president affirms that there will be no increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit.
“We also wish to affirm that the president is determined to maintain competitive tension within all sub sectors of the petroleum industry.
“He is determined to ensure that our policy drawn up as well as policy implemented follows the cue that there will not be any single one entity dominating the market.
“The market has been deregulated. It has been liberalised and we are moving forward in that direction without looking back.
“The President also wishes to affirm that there are presently inefficiencies within the midstream and downstream petroleum sub sectors that once very swiftly addressed and cleaned up will ensure that we can maintain prices where they are without having to resort to a reversal of this administration’s deregulation policy in the petroleum industry.
“I wish at this juncture to also provide a set of graphics which the president has authorized me to share with Nigerians that otherwise would be confidential. These are graphics supplied to Mr. president by the NNPCL.
“In the graphic, what you will find is the present cost of refined petroleum motor spirit at the pump in each of the West African nations that neighbour us and I’ll just name some for example, even as I know, you will be showing your audiences the graphics, which the president has graciously approved for public release today.
“Senegal at pump price today of N1,273 equivalent per liter, Guinea at N1,075 per liter, Côte d’ Ivore at N1,048 per litre equivalent in their currency, Mali N1,113 per litre, Central African Republic N1,414 per litre, Nigeria is presently averaging between N568 and N630 per litre.
“We are presently the cheapest, most affordable purchasing state in the West African sub-region by some distance. There is no country that is below N700 per litre.
“So, this is the backdrop we have seen that at the inception of our deregulation policy as of June 1 as Mr. President took office, we have seen PMS consumption in the country drop immediately from 67 million litres per day consumption, down to 46 million litres per day consumption. The impact is evident.
“What it also does means that we are not at the end of the tunnel. There is still a bit of darkness to travel through to get toward the light. And we are pleading with Nigerians to please be patient with us.
“And as we promised from the beginning, we will be open with Nigerians will be transparent with them. And we are ready to show you exactly what it is that our nation is facing with respect to the illiquidity in the market in terms of foreign exchange, as a result of what is now known to have been a gross mismanagement of the Central Bank of Nigeria over the course of several years preceding this time.”