Don’t join conspiracy against Dangote, APC chief cautions NNPCL, others
Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has faulted claims that stability in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector rests solely on the Dangote Refinery, warning that such narratives risk misleading the public and undermining the contributions of other market players.
Meanwhile, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has warned authorities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others against joining in the alleged conspiracy against Dangote Refinery.
In a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, DAPPMAN noted that it had watched with dismay the unfolding tensions between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), adding that while the matter might not directly concern its members, it was alarmed by the tone, trajectory and escalation of the issue.
The association cautioned that beyond the reputational risks to market participants, the dispute could have grave consequences for ordinary Nigerians, “particularly in a downstream environment still stabilising post-deregulation.”
It took exception to what it described as “inaccurate or misleading claims” in the public space, stressing that “the assertion that Nigeria’s downstream stability rests solely on one refinery is misleading and dismissive of the broader ecosystem.”
According to the statement, while Dangote Refinery remains a major infrastructure project, its contribution has peaked at only 30 to 35 per cent of national demand.
“The balance continues to be supplied by responsible petroleum product marketers, including DAPPMAN members, who import and distribute under strict regulatory oversight by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),” it added.
Adewole noted that for decades, DAPPMAN members had “ensured uninterrupted fuel access across the country, investing in depots, trucking fleets, retail networks, and logistics and doing so even through periods of forex pressure, subsidy transitions, insecurity, and economic downturns. These contributions deserve recognition, not erasure.”
The association called on all parties, including the Dangote Refinery, “to engage constructively and communicate responsibly, avoiding one-sided accounts that can destabilise market confidence,” stressing that “the future of Nigeria’s energy sector lies not in divisive narratives, but in cooperation, regulatory compliance, and mutual respect.”
Okechukwu, in a statement yesterday, also cautioned NUPENG, DAPMAN, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and informal actors in the oil industry against standing in Dangote’s way from providing relief to Nigerians in the oil value chain.
He submitted that instead of conspiracy, the only valid option left to stop Dangote’s monopoly is for the NNPCL to revive the four refineries, which had gulped over $10 million in Turn Around Maintenance (TAM).
“One is at a loss as to how NNPCL, that woefully failed to either manage or repair our four refineries and regrettably denied Nigerians the golden opportunity to own 20 per cent in the Dangote Refinery, is simulating a crisis?
“Or the NUPENG and cohorts that participated in mangling the refineries and obstructing their privatisation are today conspiring against Dangote? For me, what they are doing is mere sabotage and conspiracy against Nigerians; for the cardinal question is, could there have been a need for the Dangote, the 7th largest global refinery, if our four refineries were working?” he queried.
The APC chieftain said instead of thanking Dangote for the reduction in fuel prices, savings of foreign exchange by stopping importation of refined petrol and other derivatives and in addition his exportation of refined products, the NNPCL and their co-conspirators are chasing “the yesterday they lost.”
