CSO queries NNPCL's sole buyer status of Dangote petrol

The Coalition of Energy Reforms Lawyers and Activists (CERLA) has raised concerns over the firm grip of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the petroleum market.

While accusing NNPCL of attempting to undermine Dangote Refinery’s efforts to address Nigeria’s energy crisis, the organization observed that the national oil company becoming the exclusive buyer of petrol from the Dangote Refinery would enable price manipulation and undermine transparency.

The NNPCL had initially said it was not the sole off-taker of products from the Dangote refinery, adding that the refinery was free to sell its petrol to any marketer.

But a week after the statement, the Federal Government announced that the company would be the sole buyer of petrol from the refinery.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the coalition’s spokesperson, Okwa Dan, alleged that NNPCL spread falsehoods about Dangote Refinery’s pricing, claiming it sold PMS at N868 per liter.

Dan described this as a deliberate attempt to frustrate Dangote Refinery’s smooth operations and part of a larger regime of corruption aimed at frustrating local refineries and perpetuating fuel subsidy scams.

NNPC officially commenced the loading of petrol from the 650,000 barrels per day capacity Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Sunday.

The coalition criticized NNPCL’s lack of transparency and accountability in crude oil management, citing its preference for importing substandard petrol from abroad.

Dan said: “The Coalition of Energy Reform Lawyers and Activists frowns at the despicable conduct of the NNPCL. It smacks of a mockery of the sincerity of the government towards addressing the energy challenges in the country.

“It also beats our imagination and discerning minds on why the NNPCL is bent on frustrating the operations of a wholly indigenous refinery in the country with the capacity to meet the daily needs of the citizens in the supply of PMS for local consumption.

“We find it difficult to understand why the NNPCL is uncomfortable with the smooth operations of a wholly indigenous organization that has made substantial investments in the country to address the energy challenges that have continued to eat deep into the revenue of the country through fraudulent practices.

“We wish to state that the NNPCL is an organization of heists. We also wonder why the NNPCL is the sole off-taker for PMS from the Dangote refinery. The implication is that the NNPCL still wants to perpetuate fraud in the pricing and distribution of PMS across the country. This much was evident in its hurried false statement that Dangote sold PMS at N868 per liter to it.

“It also failed to inform the general public that the current stock of crude procured by Dangote refinery was in dollars, hence the payment in dollars. The NNPCL went further to create an impression that the retail price of PMS is fixed by the Dangote refinery.

He said the actions of the NNPCL imply that there is a subtle attempt to create an impression that the importation of PMS is cheaper than local production, noting that some officials are beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy scam that has impoverished the Nigerian people for decades.

“The NNPCL has refused to allow the local refineries to operate because of the fraud it is perpetuating in the importation of PMS into the country. Therefore, the operation of the Dangote refinery would bring to an end their fraudulent activities, which is essentially why they have been working against the operations of the Dangote refinery.

“It is obvious from all indications that the NNPCL is the albatross of the Nigerian people. Its operations have been opaque and shrouded in secrecy.

“We wish to state that the elephant in the room is the lack of transparency and accountability in the affairs of NNPCL. Nigerians have suffered enough in the hands of the NNPCL.”