Nigerian government refutes fixing new petrol pump price at N162 per litre

Senator Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment has made it clear that the Federal Government has now taken a back seat in the issue of petrol pricing in the country.

The Minister made this known while speaking at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa Abuja while inaugurating the bipartite plus technical committee on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, pricing framework on Monday.

In a statement which came from Ngige’s media office, quoted him as saying that the government did not fix the new PMS pump price that took off in the country on Monday.

He clarified that the new N162.44k fuel price was arrived at from the commercials like demurrage, transshipment and storage.

“Make no mistake about it. Government has taken the backseat. Government did not fix the price that took off from today.

“It was a price reduction gotten from the commercials like demurrage, transshipment and storage.

“This Committee is expected to do more to enthrone transparency in the area,” Ngige said.

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The last bipartite meeting between the Federal Government and organised labour, represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), was held on December 7, 2020, and an agreement was reached bring down the PMS pump price by N5, with effect from Monday, December 14, 2020.