Edwin Devakumar, the vice president of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, has said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) will be the sole buyer of petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
Devakumar disclosed on Monday, September 2, 2024, that the $19 billion refinery had begun a petrol production test run and would begin flowing into the tanks.
He said the facility is testing the product, which will begin flowing into the 600 million litre tank. He said that the NNPC is the sole distributor and would buy it exclusively as the refinery will export it as it has done with aviation fuel and diesel.
However, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) opposed the idea that the national oil firm would only buy the Dangote petrol.
Chinedu Ukadike disclosed this, saying that Dangoteâs decision may be influenced by NNPCâs investment in the refinery, stating that many refineries try to deal with their investors rather than other stakeholders.
According to a report by The New Telegraph, Ukadike said the move would create a monopoly in the system.
He said:
The development comes following the roll-out of Dangote petrol on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Dangote disclosed that the petrol would hit the market within 48 hours after launch, saying it meets international standards and would export the product as it did with other petroleum products.
Following the release of Dangote petrol, the NNPC reportedly increased the pump price of the product across its retail stations nationwide.
The company hiked the price by 37% after the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, suggested that the company sell petrol above the landing cost to curb smuggling.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has reacted to the latest increase in fuel price which took effect on the 3rd of September.
The congress accused the Government of betrayal.
President of NLC Joe Ajaero, made the accusation in one of his statements upon the increment of fuel price to almost 900 naira per litre by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)
Mr Ajaero explained that one of the reasons the union accepted 70,000 naira as the new national minimum wage was because of the understanding they reached with the Government that the price of fuel will not increase.
According to him, the Government is yet to implement the payment of the agreed 70,000 naira minimum wage.
NLC has called for immediate reversal of the latest increase in the price of petrol across the country.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that petrol may rise above N1,000 per litre at filling stations as the product cost in some private depots has been increased to between N920 and N950 per litre.
The development follows protests by Nigerians in Abuja on Monday, September 2, 2024, over the lingering petrol scarcity nationwide.
