The clash between the government-controlled Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL and Dangote Group over the supply and pricing of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol appears to have intensified, following, a denial on Sunday by the latter that the former purchased petrol from the Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre.
The rebuttal was contained in a statement issued by Anthony Chijiena, the spokesman for Dangote Group barely 24 hours after NNPCL made the claim.
The NNPCL had issued a statement, on Sunday, claiming that the first load of petrol from the refinery was bought at the price.
The magazine reported that the first tranche of petrol was loaded from the refinery on September 15 following months of controversy and back and forth on when the refinery would churn out PMS form the multi-billion naira petro-chemical refinery.
The development also comes days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to the refinery in naira, a move analysts said was part of the government’s efforts to mitigate foreign exchange scarcity and stabilise the local currency.
Not a few had expected the deal with Dangote to also lead to reduction in the price of petrol. But, that is not to be considering the figures released yesterday by the state-controlled oil firm which has now become a subject of controversy with Dangote.
Contradicting the claim by the NNNPC that the petrol lifted from the refinery was purchased at N898 per litre, Dangote Group described it as misleading and mischievous, capable of undermining the company’s efforts to make the product available to Nigerians.
Dangote also criticised the firm for trying to frustrate its plan towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has plagued the country for over five decades.
The company owned by Africa’s Richest Man, Aliko Dangote said, “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 bedevilled the economy in the past 50 years.
“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.”
Meanwhile, following reports that the Refinery may eventually released a higher price for the product, not a few Nigerians insist that this will be unfair, considering that the overhead cost of producing petrol in the country is believed to be lower to imported ones.
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