20th January, 2023
The Federal Government on Friday denounced report that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved increase in the price of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS).
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, in a statement issued by his media aide, Horatius Egua, in Abuja on Friday, said Buhari has not approved any increase in the price of PMS or any other petroleum product for that matter.
He said there was no reason for the president to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time.
According to him, Buhari is sensitive to the plight of the ordinary Nigerian and had said repeatedly that he understood the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate.
Sylva stated that the government would not approve any increase of PMS secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders.
He added that the president had not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel.
Sylva said this was not the time for any increase in pump price of PMS.
He appealed to Nigerians to remain calm and law abiding as the government was working hard to bring normalcy to fuel supply and distribution in the country.