IPMAN ‘s Public Relations Officer, Okanlawon Olanrewaju, disclosed this while speaking in an interview with Channels Television, warning Nigerians against panic buying of petrol.
Oil marketers had told The PUNCH on Tuesday that subsidy on petrol was increasing considering the crash of the naira against the United States dollar and the cost of crude oil, stressing that PMS should sell for N1,200/litre in a free market.
Though the possibility of another hike in pump price has been dismissed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Wednesday, many Nigerians are still apprehensive
Meanwhile, IPMAN ‘s PRO assured that oil marketers can not unilaterally increase the price of fuel until told otherwise by NNPCL.
“As far as the independent marketers are concerned, we don’t have plans or plans to increase fuel pump price
“There is no basis for that for now. There is no signal from NNPC that we should increase. So, we cannot do that on our own except NNPC comes out and says we are going to increase pump price. On our own, there is nothing like that.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the public to stop panic buying. There is nothing like that (fuel price increment). It is just a rumour, ” he said.
President Bola Tinubu had in his May 29 inauguration said the 2023 budget made no provision for fuel subsidy and that it was no longer justifiable.
The declaration saw petrol per litre jumping from around N184 to over N600 in several parts of the country. The removal of fuel subsidy also came with attendant economic crises with inflation moving to an all-time high.
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