Dangote Refinery Refutes NNPCL’s N898 Fuel Pricing Claims

Dangote Refinery Denies Selling Fuel to NNPCL at N898 Per Litre

iexclusivenews – In a recent development, Dangote Refinery has strongly refuted claims made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that it sold Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N898 per liter.

This statement, attributed to NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye, has been labeled as “misleading and mischievous” by Dangote Refinery.

The refinery urges Nigerians to await an official announcement on fuel pricing, set to be made by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries on October 1, 2024.

Misleading Claims by NNPCL

Anthony Chiejina, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Company, issued a statement on Sunday debunking the claims.

He emphasized that the statement from NNPCL was deliberately aimed at undermining the significant progress made by Dangote Refinery in addressing Nigeria’s long-standing energy insufficiency and insecurity issues.

Chiejina stated, “Our attention has been drawn to a statement attributed to NNPCL spokesperson, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per litre to the NNPCL.

This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today, September 15, 2024, towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has bedeviled the economy in the past 50 years.”

Await Official Pricing Announcement

Dangote Refinery has called on Nigerians to disregard the misleading statement and await a formal announcement on fuel pricing.

This announcement will be made by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The committee’s pricing strategy will commence on October 1, 2024.

Chiejina further clarified;

“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was procured in dollars.”

Fuel Availability and Savings

The statement also highlighted that the current stock of crude sold to NNPCL was procured in dollars, resulting in significant savings compared to existing import prices.

This move is expected to ensure the availability of petrol across all local government areas in Nigeria, regardless of their remoteness.

Chiejina assured Nigerians;

“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. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature. We assure Nigerians of the availability of quality petroleum products and putting an end to the endemic fuel scarcity in the country.”

NNPCL’s Initial Loading Claims

NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye had earlier claimed that the company successfully loaded PMS at Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre, contradicting earlier reports of a purchase price of N760 per litre.

Soneye stated;

“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.”

As the situation unfolds, Nigerians are advised to stay informed and await the official pricing announcement on October 1, 2024, which will provide clarity on the matter.