Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said that it was
illegal for the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to fix
petrol prices. Falana, in a statement on Thursday, said the action by the
petroleum company contravened the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act,
PIA. The human rights lawyer said though the NNPCL claimed the
market has been deregulated and market forces now determine petrol prices, the
NNPCL fixed the price of fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical
Company Limited last month, adding that the market forces were not allowed to
fix the price. “The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited announced
new pump prices of fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical
Company. Once again, the so-called market forces were not allowed to fix the
new prices of fuel. “The decisions of the NNPCL to fix the prices of imported
fuel and locally refined fuel are illegal, nullity and void as they contravene
the provisions of section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act which stipulates
that the prices of petroleum products shall be determined by market forces,” he
said. Recall that Nigerians woke up to another shocker on
Wednesday morning when NNPCL retail outlets adjusted the pump price of petrol
in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. In Lagos, it was observed that many NNPCL outlets sold a
litre of the essential commodity for N998, about N150 higher than the initial
price of N855. The sudden increase set motorists and transporters in
panic-buying mode as snake-like queues have besieged filling stations. Many filling stations not owned by the NNPCL immediately
followed suit as they also incrementally adjusted their pump prices, with many
selling as high as N1,050 in many parts of Lagos. In Abuja, the situation was not any different as NNPCL
retail outlets hiked the price of the essential commodity from N897 to N1,030. The fresh increase followed the September 2, 2024 increase
by the NNPCL. The retail company had hiked the price per litre of petrol
from N568 to N855, sparking outrage.Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said
that it was illegal for the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)
to fix petrol prices.
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