The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) reports that its members are unable to load petrol from the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, even though they have already paid ₦40 billion to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
IPMAN President Abubakar Garima mentioned this during the Sunrise Daily program on Channels Television on Wednesday.
Garima was surprised when Aliko Dangote, the owner of the $20 billion refinery, stated that marketers were avoiding his refinery in favor of purchasing imported petrol.
The IPMAN leader stated that his members are not importing petrol, contrary to claims made by Africa’s richest individual. He suggested that instead of acquiring Dangote’s petrol via NNPCL, the private refinery should directly register independent fuel marketers to ensure efficient loading of the product.
“If Dangote could sell the product to us directly, we would be able to purchase it since we have to pay in advance before collection. Currently, while we have ₦40 billion with NNPCL, we’re unable to source the product.”
Recently, some of my marketers were sent by NNPCL to load at the Dangote refinery. However, they remained with their trucks for four days without being able to load.
On Tuesday, billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote met with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja and informed reporters that his massive refinery holds over 500 million liters of fuel. However, he mentioned that marketers are not utilizing this facility.
Garima mentioned that despite IPMAN having over 20,000 members in Nigeria and making an upfront payment of ₦40 billion to the NNPCL, they are still unable to load the premium product from the private refinery.
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Garima suggested that if Dangote Refinery allowed independent marketers to directly obtain petrol, similar to the NNPCL’s approach, Nigerians could experience a decrease in pump prices.
The IPMAN president also encouraged Dangote to reconsider the pricing of his commodity if marketers importing petrol are avoiding using his product.
Garima suggested, “If Dangote claims that marketers aren’t purchasing his product, he should evaluate the pricing carefully. Is it more expensive than what they can get elsewhere or is it priced similarly? Also, if marketers choose to buy through him, how long will delivery to their depots take? That aspect is significant too.”
The IPMAN president stated that there is nothing wrong with marketers outside of his organization selling imported products. However, he suggested that Dangote should “review and check the prices at which others are selling.”
Nigerians are facing the severe challenges of extraordinary food inflation and energy costs, which have surged fourfold in the past year under President Tinubu’s administration. In particular, petrol prices soared from below ₦200 per litre to more than ₦1,000. Many attribute these high living expenses impacting the middle class to two key policy changes: the removal of petrol subsidies and unification of foreign exchange rates.
Citizens have organized two significant protests to express their grievances against the Tinubu administration, urging the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to reconsider its “reforms.” However, the current administration remains firm in stating that these policies are essential and will not be reversed.
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