The Federal Government has washed its hands off the petrol pump pricing face-off between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and Dangote Refinery.
The Federal Government said the two parties are at liberty to determine their own market prices for consumers.
The Federal Government’s position was made known on Wednesday by President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, while briefing State House correspondents in Abuja.
He explained that since the petroleum market has been deregulated, both Dangote and NNPCL, as oil refiners and marketers, are allowed to operate according to economic market forces and set their prices for petrol, also known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
The presidential spokesman noted that such scenario would be beneficial to Nigerian consumers in the end as competitive alternatives and pricing war tend to force prices down.
Onanuga said: “The PMS price regime has been deregulated. Dangote is a private company. NNPCL you should not forget is a limited liability company.
“Whatever controversy both of them are having is their own problem. Even if you go by the terms of the Petroleum Industry Act, NNPCL is on its own. Even though it’s owned by the Federal Government, the state government and local councils and everything, it is operating as a limited liability company
