No fuel price increment until conclusion of FG, labour talks – Petroleum Minister

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, says there will be no increment in the pump price of petrol until the conclusion of consultation with organised labour.

Sylva gave the assurance while addressing newsmen on Friday in Lagos.

The minister said the clarification was necessitated by reports that the price of PMS, commonly known as petrol, had been increased to N212.61 per litre.

He said:  “Irrespective of the source of that information, I want to assure you that it is completely untrue.

“Neither Mr President who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources nor myself who deputise for him as minister of state has approved that petrol price should be increased by one naira.

“I therefore urge you to disregard this misleading information.”

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According to him, for the past few months, the government has been in consultation with organised labour to find the least painful option to respond to the global rise of crude price which has inevitably led to increase in petrol prices.

He said it was unthinkable that government would unilaterally abandon these discussions and act in the manner suggested by the information under reference.

Sylva maintained that cynicism and deceit have never been the trademark of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“I will like to equally assure you that the engagement with the organised labour and other stakeholders will continue even as the calculations to arrive at a reasonable price regime are being done; all in good faith and you will be availed of the final outcome at the appropriate time.

“Until then, all marketers are strongly advised to maintain the current pump price of PMS before the emergence of this unfortunate information.

“Those who may want to take advantage of this unfortunate information to extort Nigerians should not give in to such temptations as there are regulatory mechanisms that government can enforce to protect its citizens.

“In conclusion, I want to sincerely apologise to all Nigerians for any distress and inconvenience the unfortunate information might have caused, “he said. (NAN)