Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called for direct access to Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) from the Dangote Refinery, criticizing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for its dominant control over the market.
The National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, argued that the market should be open to all players in accordance with the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle previously endorsed by NNPC.
His remarks come in response to recent developments where NNPC has been positioned as the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
Despite an initial statement from NNPC last Saturday claiming that it was not the exclusive buyer from the refinery, the Federal Government has now designated NNPC as the sole purchaser.
This decision was confirmed by Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, during a press briefing on Friday.
Edun, represented by Dr. Zacceus Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, disclosed that the refinery would start distributing petrol to marketers from Sunday, with an initial allocation of 25 million litres per day.
In response, Ukadike emphasized the need for market liberalization to ensure fair access and competition, arguing that the current arrangement limits opportunities for other marketers and does not align with the principles of open market competition.
“It should be open for all in line with the willing-buyer and willing-seller comments made by the NNPC. We are also looking at how to build our logistics and come up with our price,” he stated.
Also, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, raised concerns over the risks of creating a new domestic monopoly in the oil and gas sector.
Gillis-Harry said, “Right now, even on Saturday, that business (petrol) is going to start rolling out tomorrow (Sunday), we don’t know what the price might be. Nobody has informed us about anything; we are not aware of what the government is doing.
“We don’t know any of the pricing templates yet or the matrix that will bring about the pricing template. We have been asking Dangote or anybody that is in charge of this transaction to be transparent, but somehow, we have not got any of that information.
“We are about to leave NNPC monopoly from importation and now we are also going to have that in a domestic environment, that portends danger for the industry.”