The Dangote Refinery has refuted recent claims that it sold Premium Motor Spirit at N898 per litre to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The refinery’s management has described the statement, made by NNPCL spokesperson Mr. Olufemi Soneye, as “misleading and mischievous.”
This denial comes amidst ongoing scrutiny and discussions about fuel pricing and distribution in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer for the refinery, Anthony Chiejina clarified that no such pricing has been established by the refinery.
Recall that the NNPC had earlier announced that it purchased fuel from the Dangote Refinery at a rate of N898 per litre.
The Chief Spokesperson of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye further reiterated that earlier report that the NNPC purchased petrol at N760 per litre was inaccurate.
He said “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter.”
However, Chiejina has denied reports that Dangote refinery sold PMS to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited at N898 per litre.
He said “This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity.”
He further explained that the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales, appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would make an official announcement regarding pricing on October 1, 2024.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries,” Chiejina noted.
The refinery also pointed out that its current stock of crude was purchased in dollars, and it had sold the product to NNPCL in dollars, resulting in significant savings compared to current import costs.
The refinery further noted that the current stock of crude was purchased in dollars and sold to NNPCL in dollars, resulting in significant cost savings compared to current import costs.
“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing,” he added.
In light of this, the refinery assured Nigerians that it is committed to ensuring the availability of petrol across the country, even in remote areas. “With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature,” Chiejina assured.
