According to a PUNCH news report, fuel importers in Nigeria have alleged that the Dangote refinery is selling petrol to international traders at a price that is ₦65 cheaper per litre than what is offered to Nigerian marketers.
Some fuel importers in the country have alleged that the Dangote refinery is selling a litre of petrol to international traders at a price ₦65 cheaper than the amount it offers to marketers in Nigeria, according to a report by Sunday PUNCH.
Both the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) confirmed the allegations in separate interviews. DAPPMAN, in particular, called the refinery’s recent plan to slash prices a “ploy to stifle competition.”
The Dangote refinery had announced it would reduce petrol prices from ₦865 to ₦841 per litre in Lagos and the South West, and to ₦851 in other parts of the country, along with a direct fuel distribution scheme.
“Dangote is selling to international traders at ₦65 cheaper than what he is selling to us,” said DAPPMAN Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole. He added that some of their members had even bought the product from international traders in Lomé, Togo, at a lower price than what was available domestically.
Adewole also accused the refinery of offering lower prices to international buyers while quoting higher rates for local off-takers. “The claim that the refinery offers ‘free delivery’ is also misleading,” he stated, explaining that marketers are required to use Dangote-owned trucks and pay commercial rates.
The National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, supported the claim, saying, “DAPPMAN said the correct thing. It is true. We don’t want to be saying everything. But the way things are going, one day we will say everything.” A spokesperson for the refinery laughed off the accusations and suggested that DAPPMAN was behind a recent attack by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).