July 23, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 12,1423

VIENNA, July 22: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries formally denied on Monday at its headquarters here a week-end press report that Nigeria was poised to withdraw from Opec.

“Nigeria cannot afford to leave Opec,” said a source close to the organization on the condition of anonymity.

In Abuja, Nigerian officials refused on Monday either to confirm or deny that their country planned to quit Opec, promising a statement on August 1.

“We are not going to comment on this. There will be a media summit on this issue on August 1,” said Emanuel Agbegir, spokesman for the presidential adviser on petroleum, Rilwan Lukman.

However, the source here said: “We have nothing official from Nigeria.”—AFP