President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, met with Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and his predecessor, Ibe Kachikwu, over a report of petrol prize hike.
Ibe Kachikwu
Just after a closed-door with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu on Monday refuted viral media reports of possible increase in the prices of petroleum products in the country, and described the reports as untrue.
The minister who was supported by the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Maikanti Baru, when pressed on the issue by State House correspondents, he asked, “have you seen any memo to that effect?."
The NNPC GMD, Baru on his part, said that NNPC has no plan to increase the pump price of petroleum products, stressing that “there is nothing like that.’’
He however, directed the correspondents to go to the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for further clarification on the issue.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), oil marketers had indicated intention to increase prices of the products, citing continued scarcity of foreign exchange to finance importation of the products, as reason.
The details of the meeting were not disclosed to state house correspondents, as both minister and group managing director declined to speak with the press.