Adure Adeiyi
The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN), has slammed Dangote Refinery Ltd, and urge the them to desist from manipulative petrol pricing, and be transparent in their dealings with the NNPCL, says NNPCL is defending interest of Nigerians.
The Council noted that the news of the commencement of operations of the Dagote Refinery Limited (DRL) was a source of hope and joy for Nigerians, as expectations were high, that the operation will put an end to fuel scarcity as well as reduce the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) or Petrol.
In a press statement issued by the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN), during a World Press Conference held in Abuja today Wednesday 18th, September 2024. The Executive Director of the Council, Amb. Blessing Akinlosotu cited that it came as a shock to the Council and Nigerians to read the allegations and counter-allegations coming from both the DRL and NNPCL over operational cost and pricing of products.
Dangote Refinery Management accused the Regulatory Body of compromise in allowing low quality products to be imported into the country to be sold at cheaper rates, while the Regulator in turn accused Dangote Refinery of producing sub-standard products.
On the 15th September, 2024 a Press Release signed by Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communication Officer of the DRL went viral, attempting to debunk an earlier public statement by the Chief Group Communication Officer of the NNPCL Olufemi Soneye, who had posited that NNPCL bought PMS from Dangote at N898 per Litre. The Dangote spokeperson affirmed that the information issued by his colleague at NNPCL was “both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement made today, September, 2024 towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity which has bedevilled the economy in the past 50 years”. Mr Chiejina went on to urge Nigerians to “disregard the 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.”
The next day being September 16, 2024, the NNPCL spokesperson fired back with a Press Release stating as follows,” The NNPC Ltd has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country. The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by Government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arms length. The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024. The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100% to the general public. Attached to this statement are the estimated pump prices of PMS (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, based on September 2024 pricing”
The Council thereby, urged the Management of Dangote Refinery Ltd (DRL) immediately respond to questions and address issues raised by Nigerians, since the matter has been put in public space by both parties.
Questions such as;
Why is DRL waiting for a deal with another Competitor NNPC LTD to fix Prices of its PMS in a deregulated Regime?
Why are other Petroleum Products Marketing Companies in Nigeria shying away from buying from DRL, but prefer buying from NNPCL, even when DRL is in- Country, and saving huge logistics and other costs?
If DRL is desirous of selling or making NNPC LTD sole off-taker, at what Price is it proposing and the agreements of Domestic Crude Supply?
The Council therefore, charge Dangote Refinery Ltd to refute the attached facts and figures issued by NNPCL in their last Press Release, and desist from blackmailing NNPC Ltd, “that we believe is trying to block perceived monopolistic agenda, as the nation’s supplier of last resort”