By By Habeeb Ibrahim
In a swift response to claims made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Dangote Refinery has issued a statement refuting the NNPC’s claim that it sold Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N898 per litre.
The refinery’s Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, described the statement attributed to NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye as “misleading and mischievous,” urging Nigerians to disregard it.
Chiejina clarified that Dangote sold the petrol to NNPC in dollars, not naira, and with significant cost savings compared to NNPC’s current imports.
He emphasized that the refinery’s current stock of crude oil was purchased in dollars, and pricing in naira will not be implemented until October 1, 2024, following a formal announcement by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries. This sub-committee was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of efforts to improve energy supply in Nigeria.
Dangote highlighted that the milestone achieved with the first batch of petrol from its 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery should not be overshadowed by incorrect pricing reports. The company assured Nigerians that the supply of quality petroleum products would soon reach every part of the country, including remote areas, addressing the long-standing issue of fuel scarcity.
This clarification comes shortly after the NNPC announced it had lifted over 70 trucks of petrol from the Dangote refinery at N898 per litre, a claim now contradicted by Dangote’s statement. The refinery’s rebuttal casts light on the ongoing complexities surrounding fuel pricing and distribution in Nigeria, particularly as the country transitions toward using its local refining capacity to meet domestic energy needs.
With both parties addressing different aspects of the pricing mechanism, Nigerians await the official announcement on the new pricing structure, which is expected to bring more clarity by October 1, 2024.
The full statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement attributed to NNPC spokesperson, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per litre to the NNPCL.
“This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today, September 15, 2024, towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has bedeviled the economy in the past 50 years.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was procured in dollars.
“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature.
“We assure Nigerians of availability of quality petroleum product and putting an end to the endemic fuel scarcity in the country.”
