Dangote refutes NNPCL’s N898 per litre claim, says petrol was sold in dollars

Abdullateef Fowewe

Dangote Refinery has strongly refuted claims made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited that it sold petrol at N898 per litre.

In a statement released late Sunday night signed by the Dangote Refinery Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina clarified that it sold the fuel in U.S. dollars, not naira, labelling the NNPCL’s assertion is misleading.

The controversy arose after NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye indicated that the initial loading price from the Dangote refinery was set at N898 per litre.

However, Dangote’s response emphasised that the transaction was conducted in dollars, suggesting that the pricing structure may differ significantly from what was reported by NNPCL.

The statement reads, “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.

“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature.”

Dangote therefore assured Nigerians of the availability of quality petroleum products and put an end to the endemic fuel scarcity in the country.