The Federal Government has distanced itself from the ongoing disagreement over petrol pricing between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery.
According to President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, both companies are free to set their own prices, as the petroleum market has been deregulated.
Addressing the press in Abuja on Wednesday, Onanuga emphasized that since both Dangote Refinery and NNPCL operate as private entities—despite NNPCL being government-owned—they are guided by market forces and can independently determine their pricing for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
He noted that competition between the two could lead to lower prices for consumers, as private marketers are also free to import fuel if NNPCL’s or Dangote’s prices are deemed too high.
Onanuga said, “The PMS price regime has been deregulated… It is the consumers who benefit if a price war starts… Government is not dabbling into this controversy.”
Currently, the lowest pump price of petrol is N895 per liter, as NNPCL and Dangote Refinery reportedly differ over the cost at which the former buys from the latter.
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