Following the recent reduction in the pump price of petrol by the Dangote Refinery, motorists in the Federal Capital Territory have appealed to the company to expand the number of its partner retail outlets to improve access to the product within the nation’s capital.

Dangote Refinery announced last week that MRS Oil had been appointed as its partner retail outlet, with a mandate to dispense petrol at N739 per litre across the country.

A comparison of pump prices showed that while MRS stations sell petrol at N739 per litre, NNPC Retail outlets sell at N835 per litre, TotalEnergies at N920, Conoil at N910, Eterna at N889, and AYM Sharfa at N840.

As a result of the price difference, MRS filling stations have emerged as the main source of cheaper petrol for motorists and consumers in the FCT.

However, according to Vanguard, checks conducted across Abuja city centre and neighbouring areas revealed that there are only a limited number of MRS retail outlets operating within the FCT.

At Katampe, along the AYA-Gaduma-Asokoro Road, the MRS filling station in the area was observed not to display its pump price, even as queues have persisted since Dangote Refinery announced the reduction in petrol prices.

It was further gathered that the Katampe MRS station does not dispense petrol beyond 7:00 p.m. daily.

Along the Nyanya-Karshi Road, three MRS outlets were identified, but only one was dispensing petrol at the approved price of N739 per litre.

The other two MRS stations along the same axis were observed to be selling petrol at N910 per litre as of Tuesday.

Speaking to Vanguard at the MRS filling station along Airport Road, where pump prices have been adjusted to N739 per litre, a civil servant, George Anosike, said the limited number of MRS stations was a major challenge for motorists in Abuja.

“MRS stations are very few in Abuja, and with other filling stations selling above N800 per litre, Dangote can help the masses by increasing the number of stations selling its petrol,” he said.

“You can see that there is only a small queue here, but if more filling stations sell at this price, more people will enjoy the Dangote bonanza,” he added.

Another motorist, Joachim Jimbiri, also called for an expansion of Dangote Refinery’s partner outlets to ensure wider access to cheaper petrol.

“This is when we are beginning to see the real benefits of the Dangote Refinery. Two months ago, when petrol rose to N970 per litre, it was very difficult to accept because that was not what Aliko Dangote promised. Nigerians want the refinery to succeed, but we must benefit from cheaper petrol,” he said.

“Petrol should not cost more than N500 per litre in this country. We have abundant crude oil and now a functional refinery. These two factors should make petrol very cheap,” he added.