Court Dismisses FCCPC’s Request to be Joined to Dangote N100 Billion Suit to End Fuel Imports
- Dangote Refinery filed a lawsuit against the NNPCL, NMDPRA and other oil marketers, requesting the court to enforce a stop to fuel importation
- The FCCPC also recently filed a joinder request, asking to be added to the suit as a defendant since it borders on fair competition
- However, the court has thrown the request out of the window, after Counsel to Dangote Refinery described FCCPC as a meddlesome interloper
Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the request of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to join the N100 billion import licence lawsuit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
The FCCPC had filed a motion on notice, urging the court to allow it to join the other respondents in the suit.
In its application for joinder, FCCPC argued that the suit from Dangote Petroleum Refinery was anti-competition and an attempt to monopolise Nigeria’s petroleum industry, and this ran contrary to FCCPC’s mandate to ensure fair competition in a free market.
Source: UGC
The counsel for Dangote Refinery opposed the application, describing the commission as a “meddlesome interloper”. It insisted that the case revolved around an Act of the National Assembly – the Petroleum Industry Act 2023 - and had nothing to do with the FCCPC mandate.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who presided over the case, dismissed FCCPC’s request to join the suit.
Court dismisses NNPC’s objection
The court also waved off the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s objection to the lawsuit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, the PUNCH reports.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo said that court procedures required NNPCL to have submitted a counter-affidavit against Dangote Refinery’s claims, rather than filing a preliminary objection.
He added that questions about the court’s jurisdiction can be addressed at the final judgement, and criticized the NNPCL by filing an incompetent preliminary objection, contrary to the Order 16 of the Federal High Court.
Justice Ekwo added that allowing Dangote Refinery to amend its suit by properly citing NNPCL’s name did not amount to any form of injustice against NNPCL.
The court granted Dangote Refinery permission to correct the filing and amend the suit.
The case was adjourned till May 6, 2025.
Source: UGC
Fuel imports continue despite increased local production
Recall that Energy expert and consultant, Kelvin Emmanuel, raised the alarm about continued fuel imports despite sufficient production from the domestic refineries.
He shared numbers to show that Nigeria still imported an average of 1 billion litres of fuel from Malta monthly.
He also asked the NNPCL to explain why it was directly connected to half of these imports, despite claims that the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries had resumed operations.
Dangote Refinery files N100 billion suit
Dangote Refinery dragged the NMDPRA, NNPCL and five petroleum marketers to court in a N100 billion suit, seeking to halt the issuance of petroleum import licenses.
The refinery argued that the PIA 2023 mandates the government to stop the issuance of petrol importation licenses when a domestic player demonstrates capacity to meet local demands.
The marketers, however, insisted in their response that the refinery alone cannot produce sufficient petroleum products for the Nigerian market.
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Source: Legit.ng
