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NNPC conditions: Dangote refinery may dump local market, export petrol

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The Dangote refinery may resort to exporting its Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) following the refusal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to be the sole buyer of its product.

The NNPC, in a statement by its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, said on Saturday that it would not buy Dangote fuel unless it was cheaper than that of the international market.

This is contrary to claims by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that the refinery was waiting for the NNPC to roll out its product.

On Saturday, the NNPC stated that it would only fully offtake petrol from the refinery if the market prices of PMS were higher than the pump prices in Nigeria.

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The NNPC also declared that Dangote and other domestic refineries were free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, adding that it had no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment.

The company was reacting to a press release by the Muslim Rights Concern, which claimed that the Dangote refinery was being undermined by the NNPC.

MURIC stated that recent changes to the pump price of petrol by the NNPC would prevent the refinery from offering lower prices, and that the corporation had become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.

Responding, the NNPC said, “The pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including Dangote Refinery Limited, is determined by global market forces.

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“The recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market. In fact, if current prices are perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market.

“Furthermore, we emphasise that there is no guarantee of lower prices associated with domestic refining compared to any global parity pricing framework, as confirmed by the DRL. The NNPC Ltd will only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria. The DRL and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products. NNPC Ltd has no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment, and therefore, the notion of becoming a sole off-taker does not arise.”

Soneye added that the NNPC could not undermine a business in which it held a billion-dollar investment.

Dangote’s wait

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While unveiling the 650,000-capacity refinery on Tuesday, Dangote had stated that the facility would roll out petrol whenever the NNPC was ready.

Dangote disclosed that petrol would get to the filling stations in the next 48 hours (from Tuesday) after all arrangements with the NNPC were concluded, adding that the queues would soon be over.

“Our PMS can be in filling stations within the next 48 hours, depending on NNPCL,” he said.

He spoke further, “We are ready. I pray that within the next few days, you won’t see any petroleum queues as soon as we finalise with NNPC. We are ready, we are waiting for them (NNPC) and I hope they will be ready like yesterday.”

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Dangote told newsmen that he could not disclose the price of the petrol because the NNPC was in a position to control it.

“On the pricing, I can’t say anything because we don’t control the pricing. At the moment, it is controlled by NNPC, not Dangote. We will wait for them. But, our own for now is to make sure that the product is available and round-tripping is stopped,” he noted.

The businessman emphasised that the NNPC was the company that would sell and distribute the product under the current naira crude sale arrangement.

“Once the NNPC is ready, we roll. We are even ready to load a ship this week,” he added.

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Product export

But it seems the talk between the two companies have collapsed, which may result in the company selling its petrol abroad.

The NNPC has issued several statements denying that it will fix the price for Dangote or be its sole off-taker, even as the refinery has yet to roll out its product.

Nigerians have wondered why the NNPC decided to hike the pump price of petrol the same day Dangote refinery unveiled its petrol, after several months of implicit subsidy payment.

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The masses, who were hopeful that the Dangote fuel would crash the price of petrol, may be losing hope.

Speaking on the Brekete Family live show on Monday, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, said Dangote petrol would be exported if the NNPC and other petroleum dealers in the country refused to patronise it.

Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “There has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to blockade, and so now, we have been exporting our petroleum products. We are ready to pump in PMS as much as possible to the country.

“But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product, obviously we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he declared.

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Edwin expressed surprise that the company started facing challenges it never expected when the refinery was set to commence operations.

He recalled that the philosophy initially was to add value to the raw materials available in the country, regretting that Nigeria was still exporting crude and importing refined petroleum products after over three decades.

Despite having a gantry that can load 2,900 tankers per day, Edwin disclosed that the refinery had not loaded up to five per cent of the gantry’s capacity owing to low local patronage.

In an interview with our correspondent, a professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan and President of the Nigerian Economics Society, Adeola Adenikinju, advised that the government and the NNPC should buy PMS from the Dangote refinery instead of importing from another country.

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“Dangote refinery is a private business; he will export to where he can make money. He cannot be subsidising our economy. It is still going to be cheaper for the NNPC to buy from Dangote than to import from Europe. Dangote has to run the business and pay his debts, he can’t subsidise us,” Adenikinju noted.

IPMAN ready to buy fuel

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Saturday said it would buy PMS from Dangote at any price, even if the NNPC refused to buy.

The National President of the association, Abubakar Maigandi, told our correspondent that the independent marketers were ready to patronise Dangote.

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“Whatever the case, if Dangote starts selling his product, we are going to patronise him; if at all he wants to do business with us.

“We are ready to buy at any price because the NNPC is saying that they don’t want to involve themselves in fixing prices. So, at any price that he wants to sell, we are ready to buy and discharge and sell at a good price,” Maigandi stated.

Members of IPMAN own about 80 per cent of the filling stations in Nigeria, especially in rural communities.

On Thursday, the NNPC also said it was waiting for a September 15 timeline given to it by the refinery.

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However, the latest comments from the NNPC indicate all is not well with the negotiations between the two companies.

The spokesman for the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, did not answer calls or reply messages sent to him by our correspondent on Saturday.

Black marketers sell fuel N1,400 in Benue

Meanwhile, black marketers are making brisk business as most filling stations in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, closed for business.

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Since the hike in the price of the petroleum product, many filling stations have been shut down while the black market has resurfaced.

Our correspondent, who monitored the situation in Makurdi on Saturday, observed that several filling stations were not operating while black marketers were using their frontage to sell the product to motorists.

The product was sold between N1,300 and N1,400 per litre.

This development resulted in few vehicles plying the roads, while transport fares skyrocketed and people resorted to trekking.

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Motorists crowd NNPC stations for fuel

Despite the promise made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, that fuel would be available in filling stations by the weekend, the situation in Ondo State has not improved.

A visit to some filling stations in Akure, the state capital, showed that many petrol stations were still under lock and key following unavailability of the product, while NNPC stations with the product had long queues.

Also, some stations of the independent marketers were selling for between N950 and N1,100 per litre.

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In Ekiti State, many petrol stations dispensed petrol to customers, while a few did not have the product.

But the price was between N950 and N1,200 per litre at the stations dispensing petrol.

Long queues of vehicles were at the few stations selling the product at between N950 and N960 per litre.

A self-employed man, Mr Abel Olode, who said he bought some litres of petrol for N960 per litre on Friday, said, “I parked the car at home and boarded a motorcycle to my place of work today. Using it daily will drain my finances.”

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Filling stations belonging to major marketers in Ogun State sold fuel for between N868 and N890 per litre, while independent marketers sold for between N950 and N1,200 per litre.

The NNPC outlets, however, sold at N865 per litre.

A motorist, Adeolu Bashir, said, “Nothing has changed with the fuel situation. The independent marketers are selling the fuel for N1,200; meanwhile, not many of the filling stations are selling the product.”

As of September 7, 2024, independent marketers in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were dispensing fuel at N1,100 and N1,200 per litre. There were no long queues in most of the filling stations in the city

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Long queues still persisted in most of the filling stations in Zamfara State, despite the hike in fuel price.

Most of the filling stations, controlled by IPMAN in Gusau town and other parts of the state, were selling a litre of fuel between N1,100 and N1,150.

There was no fuel in all the mega stations visited by Sunday PUNCH as of the time of filing this report.

Despite the scarcity of PMS in some states, the product seemed to be available in most filling stations across the 13 LGAs of Nasarawa State.

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When our correspondent visited some of the stations in Lafia, the state capital, on Saturday, it was observed that there were no queues.

The prices of PMS in Obi, Awe, Keana, Doma, Toto and Nassarawa Eggon LGAs had skyrocketed to N1,100 per litre.

Filling stations such as Sandaji, Hayattu, Alh Dauda Muhammadu, Nagoda, Rainoil among others, all sold at N990 per litre.

Meanwhile, the product is currently being sold between N1,200 and 1,400 by the black market dealers in several locations across the state.

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In an interview with our correspondent, one of the black marketers, Musa Inusa, said getting the product had become “extremely difficult” for him because of the strict restrictions and increase in price.

Credit: PUNCH

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Ecoparl: Speaker Ibrahima Reaffirms Parliament’s Dedication to Regional Unity

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By Gloria Ikibah
The Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Rt. Honourable Memounatou Ibrahima, restated that the parliament remains committed to ensuring the unity and integration of the people within the subregion.
According to Speaker Ibrahima, the Parliament will continue to use parliamentary diplomacy to engage countries that are considering leaving the bloc due to political challenges, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, as a result of military coups they experienced.
The Speaker stated this when she led a delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament on a working visit to the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday in Abuja.
She highlighted that while countries may break formal cooperation, the people of the region remain interconnected, adding that the Parliament, as representatives of these people, will work to maintain the unity.
Ibrahima expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Senate for supporting ECOWAS by providing necessary facilities for their plenary sessions, even as she discussed the socio-political challenges facing the region, as well as how parliamentarians can contribute more to address these issues.
She said: “We strengthen parliamentary diplomacy, because we know that the countries might break cooperation but we cannot separate the population. The population always live together and we as representatives of the people, we are doing our best so that this living together will continue to be reality and even made better.
“We came to thank him for all the facilities that the senate has been providing to the ECOWAS Parliament to facilitate the holding of our sessions here in Abuja. We also discussed on the socio-political situation in the community. We also discussed on the ways parliamentarians can make more contributions on the various issues and the challenges that we are experiencing in ECOWAS”.
The President of the Senate,
Senator Akpabio, who was represented by his Deputy, Senator Barau Jubril, commended Ibrahima’s leadership and her efforts in using parliamentary diplomacy to foster cooperation within ECOWAS, especially in light of the challenges posed by countries considering an exit from the bloc.
He noted that since Speaker Meimounatou assumed office, she has deployed enormous parliamentary diplomacy to bear not only on the level of cooperation with institutions in the region but also on those that have expressed the wish to quit the regional block.
Naijablitznews.com reports that Senator Jubril is the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
He said: “Since she was elected the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, she has been up and doing in terms of giving leadership to the parliament. It is in that regard that she is here trying to chart a better course for the parliament to make sure that she brings parliamentary diplomacy to bear in terms of our cooperation not only with those who are within the community as we speak but also even those who are attempting to leave the community.
“It is in that respect that she is here, and what she is doing is commendable. She has come to strengthen her idea and initiative of making the parliament stronger and more effective”.
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Air Force Begins Moving Electoral Materials For Edo Guber Election

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has began airlifting the sensitive election materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Benin, Edo State, ahead of the upcoming governorship election scheduled for September 21, 2024.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Deputy Director, Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Kabiru Ali.

The operation is part of the NAF’s efforts to ensure the timely and secure delivery of materials necessary for a smooth electoral process.

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This development reinforces the collaboration between NAF and INEC to facilitate logistics and ensure a peaceful election in Edo State.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, had previously reiterated NAF’s commitment to providing airlift support for the swift movement of electoral materials during a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

This airlift operation is a crucial aspect of NAF’s constitutional responsibility to provide Military Aid to Civil Authority, underscoring the force’s dedication to supporting democratic processes in Nigeria. With the election just days away, the NAF’s timely intervention will help ensure the successful conduct of the governorship elections in Edo State.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had earlier accused the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, of working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hunt the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and supporters in the state and force them into hiding ahead of September 21 governorship election.

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Obaseki, who made the allegation when a delegation led by the former Head of State, Abdusalam Abubakar, met with him to get the governor and his party to sign peace accord, said that the IGP had made nonsense of his (Obaseki’s) role as the chief security officer of the state.

The governor had said that the police chief obtained a warrant to arrest 60 members and supporters of PDP in Edo and that the IGP sent an armed “gang” of policemen who invaded the state, attacked PDP members, shot at a local government chairman and arrested 10 persons who are currently being detained in Abuja without charges.

Asked by the former head of state if his party would sign the peace accord, Obaseki said, “The person who is supposed to enforce the peace accord is now an active participant in creating a destructive environment.

“We are now in a situation where from the Inspector General’s office, there are armed gang policemen who came into Edo State, invaded, arrested and took away PDP members.

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“Dancing gives me abundant joy and peace of mind”-Gov Adeleke

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has given reasons why he loves dancing.

The ‘Dancing Governor’, as he is fondly called, revealed this on Wednesday while responding to a tweet on X.

An X user, @Iwogoke, while praising the governor, stated that Adeleke has been busy fulfilling his electoral promises to the people of Osun State, while his political opponents believe he is only good at dancing.

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Iwogoke tweeted, “I’m not flattering you, Your Excellency, your opponents think you can only dance but while they are busy shouting and calling you ‘Dancing Governor’, you are busy fulfilling your electoral promises to the people.”

Responding to the tweet via his verified X account, Adeleke explained that he loves dancing because it brings him joy.

Speaking further on his love for dancing, Adeleke highlighted that while dancing brings him immense happiness, his greater fulfilment comes from delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun.

Outlining his administration’s efforts to enhance the state’s infrastructure, he noted that primary health centre rehabilitation is underway in at least 200 out of the 332 wards across Osun State, adding that road construction projects are also progressing in every local government area.

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He wrote, “Dancing gives me joy, but delivering on my electoral promises and providing the dividends of democracy to the good people of Osun gives me even greater joy. Rehabilitation of primary health centers is ongoing in at least 200 out of 332 wards, and road construction is progressing in every Local Government!”

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