11plc, Total Energies, AA Rano, and other marketers have commenced purchasing Dangote Petrol from the Nigerian National Company (NNPC) Trading Limited at N765.99 per litre.

According to BusinessDay, some petroleum marketers who were able to complete their payment processes on the NNPC trading payment portal commenced the lifting of petrol earlier this week under the existing agreement between marketers and the refinery.

Tunji Oyebanji, managing director, 11Plc, confirmed to BusinessDay on Thursday evening that some marketers have started lifting the products at N765.99 from Dangote Refinery through NNPC.

“We were among the first marketers to complete the payment on the NNPC portal. We have no direct arrangement with the refinery,” Oyebanji said.

It was learnt that NNPC Retail, 11plc, Total Energies, A.A Rano are among the marketers that have picked up products from the refinery.

He added, “We don’t know the contractual financial arrangement between NNPC and the refinery but what I can confirm is we are buying at N765.99 from NNPC to lift Dangote petrol.”

Efforts to get the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to confirm if its members have picked up products at the Dangote Refinery proved abortive at the time of writing this report.

Adedapo Segun, executive vice-president, downstream at NNPC, said marketers cannot purchase petrol directly from the refinery because the product is still sold at a subsidised rate.

“That is the same thing happening with Dangote. I said earlier that Dangote is a company and it is going to sell at market price,” he told Journalists.

“The market value of PMS is still higher than what N766 or N765 or N799 that NNPC is selling.

“The situation has not changed there. So, NNPC’s off-taking is only because the others would not buy at the price Dangote will be willing to sell, which is reasonable.

“As soon as the price allows for it, you will see the marketers go to Dangote and buy.

“So, instead of saying NNPC is the only off-taker, let’s put it this way: NNPC is the only entity that is willing to offtake because NNPC has a role under the law to be the energy provider of the resort,” Segun added.

On Sunday Evening, Femi Soneye, spokesperson of NNPC, had said that the refinery bought petrol from Dangote refinery at N898 per litre. He said market forces now determine domestic pump prices.

“For instance, now Brent is $70. Let’s say tomorrow, Brent goes to $80. You should note that the price will also rise because those are the market forces. But today, for this initial 16.8 million litre that was given to us, it was at the rate of N898,” Soneye said.

In its reaction, Anthony Chiejina, spokesperson of Dangote Refinery, had described the claim as “misleading and mischievous, aimed at undermining the refinery’s achievement in addressing Nigeria’s energy insufficiency.”

However, the refinery failed to disclose the price it sold the product to NNPC Ltd.

In a counter-statement, the NNPC insisted it bought the product for N898 per litre and would be grateful for any discount from the Dangote refinery that could be passed 100 per cent to the general public.

NNPC Ltd said apart from landing costs from refineries, suppliers must pay statutory and regulatory charges for each litre of petrol.

Those charges include the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority fee, N8.99; inspection fee, N0.97; distribution cost (Lagos), N15.00; and profit margin, N26.48.

The state oil company said once freight and other statutory costs are added, the product would cost more at the pump—N950.22 per litre in Lagos, N980.22 in Rivers, and N992.22 in Abuja. The selling price in Maiduguri is N1,019.

The Nigeria Police Force has revealed some potential benefits of the Electronic Central Motor Registry, E-CMR innovation.

The E-CMR innovation is expected to revolutionize how vehicle information is verified and tracked, especially when stolen.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, while highlighting some of the benefits of the E-CMR via his X handle on Thursday, said with the technology, there would be “No more stopping to check papers- our officers are equipped with cutting-edge tech to verify documents in real-time”.

According to Adejobi, when a vehicle registered with the NPF E-CMR gets stolen, “you can instantly flag it as stolen through your online profile” and it will be recovered.

The Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun had in July this year ordered the enforcement of the digitalised Central Motor Registry.

The IGP said the move was to modernise and digitize the motor vehicle registration system, and improve the nation’s safety and security framework.

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja has dismissed a defection suit instituted against the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike.

The suit seeking to replace the 27 lawmakers on account of their alleged defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was dismissed on various grounds.

Delivering judgement on Friday, Justice Lifu held that the suit instituted by the Action People’s Party (APP) was statute-barred and was not filed within 14 days allowed by law.

While the defection was said to have been carried out in December last year, the APP filed the case on July 12, eight months after the cause of action emanated.

Besides, Justice Lifu said that the case was a gross abuse of the court process on the ground that several suits on the alleged defection of the same 27 lawmakers had been adjudicated upon by the Federal High Court.

The judge who quoted the previous judgments of the Federal High Court said that the request for replacement of the lawmakers had earlier been rejected due to a lack of sufficient evidence to establish the defection of the legislators.

He specifically recalled the judgment of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered in July where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was restrained from declaring the seats of the lawmakers vacant and from conducting any fresh election to replace them.

Justice Lifu pointed out that since the judgement had not been set aside and not appealed against, it remains binding with the force of law as far as the issue of defection is concerned for the 27 legislators.

He added that it would amount to a waste of judicial time for him to sit as an appeal court in the judgment of the same court.