The long-awaited entry of Dangote Petrol into Nigeria’s fuel market has sparked optimism among industry players, with IPMAN and PETROAN indicating a possible decrease in fuel prices. As the company’s refining capacity ramps up, the increased supply is expected to exert downward pressure on prices.

Nigeria’s petroleum marketers are upbeat that they will sell Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) cheaper than that of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited if Dangote Refinery begins direct sales of petrol to them.

The spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike disclosed this in an exclusive interview with DAILY POST on Monday.

Ukadike gave this assurance while giving an update on petroleum marketers’ plans to directly purchase petrol from Dangote Refinery.

This comes days after the Federal Government, through the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Implementation Committee on Naira-for-crude sale to domestic refineries, Wale Edun, confirmed that marketers have been cleared to purchase petrol directly from Dangote Refinery.

The development brought to an end the NNPC regime as the sole buyer of Dangote Refinery.

Recall that upon the inaugural distribution of Petrol at Dangote Refinery, NNPC was the sole-offtaker.

However, Edun last Friday said that part of the implementation of the Naira-for-crude deal with Dangote Refinery was for marketers to lift petrol directly without NNPC as a middleman.

This comes at the back of the latest hike of petrol in NNPCL filling stations to N1,030 per litre in Abuja, while other petrol stations sell between N1100 and N1,200.

Similarly, NNPCL fixed between N1040 and N1100 as ex-depot prices, that is, the rate petrol marketers are expected to buy the product at depots.

Meanwhile, marketers had earlier rejected the ex-depot price by NNPCL.

The Nigerian government’s permission for marketers to lift Dangote Petrol became a lifeline outside fuel import.

Reacting, Ukadike on Monday said IPMAN members, who control 70 % of filling stations nationwide, are awaiting Dangote Refinery to kick off direct petrol sales.

According to him, the direct purchase of Dangote Petrol will remove all the fees added by NNPCL on the product.

He stressed that as soon as marketers begin purchasing Dangote Petrol, their price will drop below NNPCL’s current fuel price of N1030 per litre in Abuja.

“We are still waiting on Dangote Refinery on the direct sale of its petrol to our members and the price template.

“Our petrol price will be cheaper than that of NNPC Retail price if Dangote Refinery sells petrol to us.

“Because we are buying from the same source, the fee NNPC puts on top before selling to marketers will be cut off.

“We are not government workers, we don’t earn salaries, our profits emerge from turnovers.

“We are hoping we have a meeting with Dangote Refinery Tomorrow (Tuesday) or soon,”

Similarly, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry told DAILY POST that Dangote Refinery is yet to respond to its request letter for direct purchase of PMS.

He noted that it would be impossible for marketers to purchase Dangote Petrol without a price template.

“Till today, they have yet to tell anybody how much they are selling their product. They expect us to take our trucks to the refinery plant without knowing the price of petrol?

“We’re willing to support Dangote Refinery”,

Meanwhile, petrol marketers’ assurance is not cast in stone, considering the fuel price hike recorded in the weeks after the Dangote petrol distribution.

An oil and gas expert, Olabode Sowunmi, on Monday, said Dangote Refinery did not commence domestic production of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to sell at a cheap price to Nigerians.

The Fount recalls that fuel price increased to N1030 last Wednesday, October 9, 2024, from N238 in June last year upon President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration.

In June 2023, Tinubu announced fuel subsidy removal, which led to a petrol hike to above N600 per litre from N238.

On September 16, 2024, NNPCL effected a fuel price hike, which saw the product increase to between N1,030 and N1,200 per litre.

Apart from petrol, Automotive Gas Oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (12 kilograms) increased to N1406 per litre and N15,552.56, respectively, in August 2024 N854.32 and N9,194.41 the same period last year.

High energy costs, skyrocketing food prices, and Naira fluctuations in the foreign exchange market have been fueling economic hardship under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.

In April this year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a 240 % tariff hike for band A customers getting 20 hours of power supply.

The hike means electricity customers under band A feeder pay N209.5 per Kilowatt-hour from N66.

The hike comes despite Nigeria still grappling with 5000 megawatts of electricity supply for a population estimated to be over 200 million.