Recent discrepancies in claims made by the Dangote Group and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited have led to the spread of misinformation regarding the pricing of petrol. Between Thursday and Saturday, the conflicting statements from both parties have caused confusion among consumers and stakeholders alike.
On one hand, Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote suggested that the refinery was awaiting the NNPC’s rollout of its product, indicating a collaboration between the two entities. However, the NNPC denied being the sole offtaker of Dangote Refinery’s products and insisted that pricing would be determined by global market forces.
FIJ can report that the seed of the misinformation on new petrol pricing came from Dangote.
Dangote has since deleted a post on microblogging platform X in which it claimed that the NNPC had “the sole authority” to determine the price of petrol in Nigeria.
Since the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of Aliko Dangote’s Dangote Group, announced its readiness to begin selling its petrol product into the domestic market, there has been much public debate on the appropriate cost of the refinery’s petrol per litre.
On Thursday, the company posted a media flyer, featuring Aliko Dangote with a quote, to the effect that only the NNPC could decide how much a litre of petrol sold for in Nigeria.
“NNPC has the sole authority to determine price of petrol,” Dangote Group said in the post.
This claim made the news. However, it has now been deleted, but not without forcing a rebuttal from the NNPC, which is the petroleum industry regulator.
“WE DON’T DETERMINE PRICES”
Hours after the Dangote Group’s claim, the regulator told Nigerians that it had no such power to determine a price. It claimed that it was a decision strictly in the invisible hands of the market forces envisaged by the law.
Rightly so, Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the NNPC’s establishment law, states that prices of petrol would be determined by the unrestricted market conditions. It says, “Subject to the provision of this section, wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products shall be based on unrestricted free market pricing conditions.”
Olufemi Soneye, the NNPC chief corporate communications officer, also said in a statement on Thursday that the market had been deregulated.
PRESS RELEASE
PMS Prices are Determined by Free Market Forces—NNPC Ltd
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit… pic.twitter.com/maGGrpRDZp
— NNPC Limited (@nnpclimited) September 5, 2024
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.
