The report quoted the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Ukadike Chinedu, as saying that subsidy on petrol was rising and that the cost of the commodity should be around N1,200/litre in a free market.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Wednesday said it did not clash with petroleum marketers over the removal of petrol subsidies.
The NNPC Ltd said this in a statement by Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of the company.
The NNPC Ltd made this known in reaction to a report that the company on Tuesday clashed with petroleum marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) over the removal of subsidy on petrol.
The report noted that petrol will now cost N1,200 per litre due to the cessation of under-recovery of fuel costs.
PUNCH said oil marketers claimed that subsidy on petrol was increasing considering the crash of the naira against the United States dollar and the cost of crude oil.
The report quoted the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Ukadike Chinedu, as saying that subsidy on petrol was rising and that the cost of the commodity should be around N1,200/litre in a free market.
"To be pragmatic in this analysis let's consider the cost of petrol today in the United States. For Premium petrol, it is $2.99, while super petrol sells for $3.15 or $3.10 depending on the part of the country where you are making the purchase.
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"Now, $3 in Nigeria is over N3,000, because a dollar in the parallel market is over N1,000. You can also see the cost of diesel, which is over N1,000/litre, and it is important to state that petrol is usually higher in price than diesel in a free market.
"So if you consider the cost of diesel, dollar and other international factors, the price of petrol in Nigeria should be around N1,200/litre, but the government is subsidising it, which to an extent is understandable," Mr Chinedu was quoted by PUNCH report as saying.
But in his reaction, Mr Soneye said that the company has not clashed with any party.
"NNPC Ltd emphasizes it has not clashed with any party. The Punch headline is deemed unfortunate. The publication sought confirmation on alleged subsidy reduction, to which NNPC responded that subsidy has been entirely removed," Mr Soneye said in the message.
When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Mr Chinedu, he did not reply to calls and a text message was sent to him as of press time Wednesday afternoon.
