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Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has declared that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) lacks the legal authority to set fuel prices.
In a statement released on Thursday, Falana argued that NNPCL’s actions are in violation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
He noted that while NNPCL claims the fuel market has been deregulated and prices should be determined by market forces, the company recently set the price of fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company.
Falana emphasized that market forces were not allowed to play their natural role in determining these prices.
“The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited announced new pump prices for fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company. Yet again, the so-called market forces were not permitted to influence the new prices,” Falana said. He went on to describe NNPCL’s decisions to fix prices for both imported and locally refined fuel as “illegal, null, and void,” citing Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which mandates that prices be driven by market forces.
The latest round of fuel price hikes by NNPCL shocked Nigerians when the company adjusted the pump price in both Lagos and Abuja. In Lagos, NNPCL outlets increased prices to N998 per litre, a significant jump from the previous N855. Other filling stations quickly followed suit, with some selling fuel for as high as N1,050 per litre in parts of Lagos. The Federal Capital Territory saw a similar trend, with NNPCL increasing prices from N897 to N1,030 per litre.
This latest increase comes on the heels of a prior price adjustment on September 2, 2024, when NNPCL raised prices from N568 to N855 per litre, triggering public outrage.