The Dangote Group has denied claims that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is currently lifting petrol from its refinery at a price of N897 per litre. This was clarified in a statement released on Thursday by Anthony Chiejina, the Group’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer.
According to Chiejina, the company has not yet finalized its agreement with NNPC, making it impossible for them to set any price for petrol.
He stated, “We would like to state that NNPC has not commenced lifting of refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Therefore, the issue of fixing the price of petrol lifted from our refinery does not arise, as we are yet to finalize our contract with NNPC.”
The statement was in response to a misleading headline published by another media outlet, not The Punch, which suggested that NNPC had started lifting petrol from the refinery and was selling it at N897 per litre. The Dangote Group emphasized that the pricing of PMS is strictly regulated by government authorities, and the company does not have the power to determine or influence these prices.
The company urged the public to ignore the false reports and reassured Nigerians of their commitment to transparency and fairness in their operations. They also highlighted that the PMS market is regulated and that all stakeholders in the sector are aware of this.
Meanwhile, Aliko Dangote, the Group Chief Executive Officer, noted that the Federal Executive Council is working on a new pricing arrangement for the petrol produced at the Dangote Refinery. The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery recently unveiled its refined petrol, and Dangote announced that the product would be available at filling stations soon, depending on the country’s needs.
“It is an arrangement which is designed and approved by the Federal Executive Council led by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Dangote stated, adding that they are ready to distribute the product once the final agreements with NNPC are reached.
This clarification from the Dangote Group comes after reports surfaced that NNPC had instructed its retail outlets to increase the pump price of petrol to N855 per litre, following challenges related to fuel imports due to an $8 billion debt.
