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Femi Falana, a prominent human rights lawyer, stated that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) does not have the legal authority to determine petrol prices, calling the practice illegal under Nigerian law.
Falana stated on Thursday that the conduct of the petroleum company is in direct contravention of the regulations established by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Falana 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. The so-called market forces were not allowed to fix the price”.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), 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.
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Nigerians woke up to yet another unsettling development on Wednesday morning, as NNPCL retail outlets in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, implemented a new increase in petrol prices.
Newsmen in Lagos found that several NNPCL outlets were selling a litre of petrol for ₦998, a significant increase of about ₦150 from the former price of ₦855. This sudden hike in fuel prices caused a wave of panic among motorists and transporters, resulting in long queues resembling snakes at 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 ₦1,050 in many parts of Lagos.
In Abuja, the situation was not anyway different as NNPCL retail outlets hiked the price of the essential commodity from ₦897 to ₦1,030.
The fresh increase followed the September 2, 2024 increase by the NNPCL. The retail company had hiked the price per litre of petrol from ₦568 to ₦855, sparking outrage.
