• Group challenges Dangote on sulphur waiver, insists refinery supplies only 35% of national demand
• Ndume warns against demonising refinery
Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has rejected allegations by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals that its members are diverting fuel to neighbouring countries. It issued a seven-day ultimatum for the claim to be withdrawn or proven with evidence.
However, Dangote Refinery, yesterday, reiterated its stance, saying any party who feels aggrieved by the contents of its publication and position is entitled to seek redress through the appropriate legal channels, without recourse to any so-called seven-day notice.
The Refinery disclosed that the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), demanded a yearly subsidy of N1.505 trillion to enable members to match the refinery’s gantry prices at their own depots.
Amid growing unease in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector, Sen Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) cautioned industry stakeholders against what he described as a deliberate attempt to demonise the Dangote Refinery, warning that such actions could undermine fuel supply stability and derail gains made through the ongoing deregulation of the petroleum industry.
Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Abuja, has issued an interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) from embarking on any form of industrial action or compelling other truck drivers to participate.
DAPPMAN described the allegations as “misleading and factually incorrect” statements issued by Dangote Refinery on September 15, warning that it will seek legal redress if the refinery fails to retract the allegations.
The group also dismissed as “false and baseless” suggestions that it sponsored the planned strike by NUPENG, stressing that each of the stakeholders, including NUPENG, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) and DAPPMAN, operates independently.
Dangote Refinery said: “While we offer petroleum products to marketers at our gantry price, DAPPMAN insists on receiving products via coastal logistics, an option that would incur an additional N75 per litre in costs. Based on projected daily consumption volumes of 40 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 15 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), this amounts to an additional annual cost of N1.505 trillion (N1,505,625,000,000), which they are effectively asking us to absorb and pass it on to consumers.
“Specifically, the marketers are demanding that we discount N70/litre in coastal freight, NIMASA, NPA and other associated costs as well as N5/litre for the cost of pumping into vessels to enable them to transport products from our refinery to their depots in Apapa and sell at the same price as our gantry.
“We wish to make it clear that we have no intention of increasing our gantry price to accommodate such demands, nor are we willing to pay a subsidy of over N1.5 trillion, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government for many years. DAPPMAN and other marketers are welcome to lift products directly from our gantry and benefit from our logistics-free initiative.”
The association further raised safety concerns about the refinery’s plan to deploy 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, arguing that it would pose risks on Nigerian roads.
The marketers accused the refinery of prioritising fleet expansion over public safety, adding that such rollout should be subject to stricter regulatory oversight.
In a statement yesterday, it gave Dangote a seven-day ultimatum to produce verifiable evidence or withdraw the claim, insisting that “smuggling is a national security issue” best handled by competent authorities and not through unsubstantiated accusations.
“We challenge Dangote Refinery to present verifiable evidence that DAPPMAN members are diverting products to neighbouring countries. Smuggling is a national security matter. If any member is complicit, let the relevant agencies act. We issue the refinery a seven-day ultimatum to either retract this allegation or provide documented proof. If neither occurs, we reserve the right to seek legal redress,” the group stated.
It said the refinery’s release, which accused marketers of colluding with labour unions and round-tripping products through Togo, misrepresented the operations of legitimate depot owners and traders in a deregulated market. It added that the remarks not only maligned marketers but also cast aspersions on regulators such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and border agencies.
They also accused the refinery of double standards on product quality, noting that Dangote applied for waivers from NMDPRA to distribute products with sulphur levels above 50 parts per million (ppm), a direct breach of Section 317(11) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“NMDPRA) maintains daily logs of loading and dispatch volumes across all depots and terminals, including Dangote. Claims about actual consumption volumes are outside the refinery’s jurisdiction. If Dangote seeks credibility, it should open its production and dispatch records to an independent audit,” the marketers added.
Ndume, a former Senate Leader, expressed concern over the protracted tensions between the management of Dangote Refinery and two major players in the downstream sector –NUPENG and DAPPMAN.
His remarks come in the wake of NUPENG’s recent industrial action, which led to the shutdown of fuel depots nationwide.
The union had accused the Dangote Refinery of preventing its truck drivers from joining the union, a right it insists is guaranteed under the Trade Union Act.
In a separate front, DAPPMAN, an umbrella body of fuel importers, accused the refinery of anti-competitive practices, alleging that Dangote was selling products at lower prices to international traders than to Nigerian marketers, a situation it said put local operators at a disadvantage and threatened market balance.
While the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly intervened to resolve the immediate dispute between the refinery and NUPENG, broader tensions persist in the sector.
Reacting to the developments in a statement issued in Abuja, Ndume described the situation as worrisome, particularly as it risks distorting public perception and threatening national fuel supply.
Tracing Nigeria’s chequered history of failed private refinery initiatives, the senator recalled that successive administrations had granted licences to private operators, who ultimately failed to deliver on their commitments.
NICN also barred the unions from blocking public roads or taking steps that could frustrate or shut down the operations of Dangote Refinery, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc and MRS Oil and Gas Company Limited.
Justice Emmanuel Subilim granted the order yesterday after considering a motion ex parte filed by counsel to Dangote Refinery, George Ibrahim (SAN).
In his ruling, Subilim held that the applicants had established sufficient grounds for the grant of interim protection, noting that the refinery could suffer irreparable damage if the injunction was not granted.
The matter has been adjourned for further hearing.
Following the inability of the Federal Government to broker peace between NUPENG and Dangote Refinery at last Monday’s conciliation meeting organised by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, the union continued the strike, shutting down depots and some filling stations.
The suspension of the strike later in the evening was a relief in areas where its impact was felt.
In states like Cross River and Kaduna, many filling stations were under lock and key on Tuesday, while some adjusted pump prices in Sokoto and Enugu. It was also gathered that vehicle owners engaged in panic buying in parts of Lagos and Ogun states.
