“Prices Will Crash:” Reps Send Memo to FG on Direct Product Lifting from Dangote Refinery Marketers
- The House of Reps has asked the Nigerian government to ask the NNPC to allow Independent marketers to lift petrol from Dangote Refinery
- A member of the House, Oboku Oforji, disclosed that if the situation is not tackled, it could worsen the current petrol scarcity
- He said that the government needs to dismantle the NNPC monopoly and allow independent marketers to buy petrol directly from Dangote
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives asked the Nigerian government to direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Dangote Refinery to allow independent marketers to begin product lifting from the newly built Dangote Refinery.
The Reps resolved following adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the member representing Yenogoa/Opokuma Federal Constituency, Bayelsa, Oboku Oforji.
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NNPC’s monopoly spells doom for the industry
Oforji said that the lawmakers are worried that the NNPC and significant marketers are exclusive distributors of Dangote petrol, which creates a monopoly.
He said that if immediate action is not taken, the petrol scarcity will worsen Nigerians' suffering and badly affect the economy.
Oforjis disclosed that representatives of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) may resort to petrol imports again to sustain their businesses.
He praised the Dangote Group for starting petroleum refining, saying that the achievement has put Nigeria among the top energy producers globally and that the journey to energy security has begun.
Punch reports that the lawmaker disclosed that the Nigerian economy would be the brunt of the NNPC and that significant marketers’ monopolies would not be arrested.
To address the concerns, the House asked the Dangote Refinery Management to build, acquire, or partner with industry stakeholders to establish tank farms or depots nationwide to boost petrol availability.
NNPC gives reason marketers cannot lift Dangote petrol
Legit.ng earlier reported that the executive vice president of NNPC downstream, Adedapo Segun, said that independent marketers couldwenot yet lift petrol from Dangote Refinery due to the product’s cost.
He said the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved import permits.
According to Segun, marketers always ask for permits from NMDPRA to import petroleum products, including PMS, but they do not import petrol because the market is not profitable.
On buying products from Dangote Refinery, Segun said that the Dangote petrol is sold at the market price and that the NNPC is the only company to offtake the product for now.
Marketers initiate direct talks with Dangote
In another report, Legit.ng revealed that independent petroleum marketers were starting direct talks with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos to break NNPC’s monopoly in the petroleum sector, especially in distributing Dangote petrol.
The oil marketers have expressed hope that they could lift petrol directly from the Dangote refinery as the product’s scarcity continues.
Checks reveal that many petrol stations in Abuja are still shut down due to scarcity three months later.
Marketers compare Dangote petrol price with imported fuel
Legit.ng previously reported that oil marketers revealed that the price at which Dangote Refinery sold its petrol to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) was way cheaper than the cost of the product when imported from abroad.
The NNPC has said that the Dangote Refinery sold the product at N898 per litre, leading to price adjustments nationwide.
However, Dangote Refinery management refuted the state oil company's claims, saying that it sold the product cheaper than NNPC imports from overseas.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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