"We should always rely on official sources. No such information has come from any official source to say we are going to bring back the subsidy," he said.
There is no official information that petroleum subsidy arrangements will be returned by President Bola Tinubu's administration, Lanre Issa-Onilu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said.
Mr Issa-Onilu, a former director of communication strategy of the APC, disclosed this on Wednesday while featuring on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily.
The APC chieftain spoke in reaction to reports in the media that the federal government is considering a temporary subsidy to ease the pains faced by Nigerians due to the petroleum subsidy removal.
On 29 May, during his inauguration, President Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol. This development has caused hardship for many Nigerians with its attendant increase in the prices of goods and services.
Following the announcement, the NNPCL directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre, an almost 200 per cent increase from the initial price below N200.
The hike immediately triggered an increase in transportation fares and prices of goods and services by various percentages.
Responding to questions on the temporary return of subsidy Mr Issa-Onilu said: "We should always rely on official sources. No such information has come from any official source to say we are going to bring back the subsidy.
"People import fuel and sell at prices, but the government cannot fold its arms and allow people to continue to suffer.
"They have looked at the numbers and said these prices cannot continue to go up if we deal with the inefficiencies in the system. The inefficiencies in the importation and delivery because that comes with a cost.
"The government is trying to address everything along the value chain to ensure that there is a smooth operation and nothing compounds the transactions and makes things easier for the businessmen involved," he said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had on Monday said it has no intention to increase the retail price of petroleum.
The NNPCL made this known in reaction to reports in the media that the company was set to raise petroleum pump prices from the current N617 per litre to between N720 and N750 in the coming weeks.
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On Tuesday, Mr Tinubu assured Nigerians that there would be no further increase in the pump price of petrol, despite the deregulation of the product.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with the president on Tuesday.
"The president wishes to assure Nigerians, following the announcements by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) just yesterday, that there will be no increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit anywhere in the country," the spokesperson said. "We repeat, the president affirms that there will be no increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit."
Mr Tinubu also acknowledged that there are inefficiencies within the downstream sector that are contributing to the fuel price controversy. He assured that all loopholes associated with the smooth delivery of petroleum products in the country will be addressed immediately.
"The president also wishes to affirm that there are presently inefficiencies within the midstream and downstream petroleum sub-sectors that, once very swiftly addressed and cleaned up, will ensure that we can maintain prices where they are without having to resort to a reversal of this administration's deregulation policy in the petroleum industry," Mr Ngelale said.
