The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajearo has attributed the ongoing conflict between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to alleged government policy inconsistencies and fraudulent activities by certain parties.
Speaking to journalists at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II in Lagos on Wednesday, Ajearo criticized the situation as unwarranted, emphasizing that a deregulated economy should promote choice and competition, according to The Punch.
He questioned the rationale behind regulating the pricing of Dangote’s products, arguing that dictating terms to the private sector constitutes an act of fraud.
“For a product produced here, he didn’t import with dollars, there was no landing cost and they wanted him to sell it at the same cost as the one they are bringing from abroad. That is fraudulent and unacceptable.
“What you are seeing is fraudulent and policy somersault. Nigerians were made to believe that the sector has been deregulated and in a deregulated arrangement there should be choices and competition. So why are you now attempting to regulate how much Dangote should sell his product? Why?
“When Port Harcourt refinery comes up, let NNPC sell, let Dangote also sell but when you now begin to regulate how much Dangote should sell, that is fraudulent.
“This is the time for Nigerians to speak up. They told us that when they deregulate the economy, the private sector will direct the economy and the government will have no business in business. Now, they are trying to regulate how or what to sell by the private sector.
“They want him to sell the product at the same price as when it was imported. For a product he produced here without landing cost and you want him to sell it at the same rate as the one imported, that is fraudulent,” he stated.
It was earlier reported that the NNPC released updated version of the breakdown of the estimated price of petrol bought from the Dangote refinery.
According to the statement on Monday morning, the NNPC gave a chart breakdown of the refined petrol product it bought from the refinery on Sunday, September 15.
The nation’s oil firm disclosed that it is paying the Dangote refinery in U.S. dollars for the petrol offtake scheduled for September 2024.
It further clarified that transactions in Naira will begin on October 1, 2024.
The statement reads, “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 estimated prices are based on negotiated terms between NNPC Ltd. and Dangote Refinery which recognise the current international gasoline prices and the prevailing foreign exchange rate in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“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.
“We reassure Nigerians that any discount from the Dangote Refinery will be passed on 100% to the general public.”
