Popular Nigerian newspaper, Vanguard, has apologised over a report indicating that petrol prices had risen to N1,900 per litre.
The newspaper issued the apology on Saturday, hours after erroneously reporting that ex-depot prices of fuel had jumped to N1,900 per litre in Lagos and other parts of the country.
In its apology, Vanguard acknowledged the error, clarifying that the N1,900 per litre price referred to Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel, and not Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol.
“The N1,900 per litre price mentioned in our earlier report referred to diesel (AGO), not petrol (PMS), as erroneously stated.
“We regret the error and apologise for any confusion it may have caused,” the newspaper stated.
Nigerian Newssphere reports that petrol pump prices in Abuja and its environs ranged between N1,370 and N1,410 per litre.
Recall that on Thursday, the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, announced a proposed petrol price of N1,350 per litre at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) filling stations for 30 days.
The decision has attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians.
Petroleum product marketers and retailers lauded the initiative but urged the Federal Government to extend the proposed N1,350 per litre fuel discount to other filling stations.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders, including Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), described the Tinubu administration’s decision to offer a fuel discount as a political gimmick and a return to fuel subsidy.
Oyedele and the Presidency have repeatedly dismissed claims that the proposed fuel discount at NNPCL filling stations amounts to a reintroduction of fuel subsidies.
