By Francesca Hangeior.
Three days after the NNPC Limited increased the pump price of petrol and Dangote Refinery announced the commencement of petrol distribution from the $20 billion facility, queues at filling stations have failed to abate.
Checks in Abuja showed that very few stations were opened to customers despite the petrol hike which has seen black marketers selling the product N1,500 per litre.
To add to the supply challenge, Dangote Refinery has disclosed that NNPC which was made the sole off-taker of its premium motor spirit also known as petrol has not commenced the lifting of the product.
Dangote said it was still negotiating the terms of the contract with the national oil company.
Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina in a statement on Thursday said the company is not in a position to determine the price of petrol as the sector is regulated.
“We would like to state that NNPC has not commenced lifting of refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
“Therefore, the issue of fixing the price of petrol lifted from our refinery does not arise, as we are yet to finalize our contract with NNPC.
“The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector, hence we can not determine, fix, or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities”.
He urged the public to disregard the reports “as it is misleading and does not represent the true position in this matter.
“We are guaranteeing Nigerians of exceptionally high quality petroleum products that will be readily available all over the country.”
Recall that the Federal Government was reconsidering the decision to make NNPC the sole off-taker of petro from the refinery. The report added that the move would allow the refinery to set the price for its petrol rather than having the government peg the rate.