From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) yesterday, said the pump price of petrol remains at N180/litre, saying there are no plans to jack it up under any circumstance.
It thus advised all players in the downstream ecosystem to dump their speculative practices that have driven the price of the commodity to as high as N350/litre in some parts of the country.
However, the Authority’s position has been described as fictive and commercially suicidal by oil marketers, who insisted that the depot price of petrol has since increased amid a disrupted distribution system, thus shooting up the price of the vital commodity to over N300/litre on the average.
The NMDPRA said: “The Authority wishes to inform the general public that the Federal Government has no intention of increasing the price of PMS during this period.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has imported PMS with current stock levels sufficient for 34 days.
“Consequently, marketers and the general public are advised to avoid panic buying, diversion of products, and hoarding.
“In keeping with the Authority’s responsibilities as outlined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Authority assures the public that it would continue to monitor the supply and distribution of all petroleum products nationwide especially during this holiday season”, the statement noted.