The Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria has kicked against the plan by the Dangote refinery to slash petrol prices.
The Dangote refinery recently announced that it would on Monday drop petrol prices from N865 per litre to N841 in Lagos and the South West, while it would be N851 in Abuja, Edo, and Kwara.
This would come alongside the commencement of its direct fuel distribution scheme.
But in a statement on Saturday, DAPPMAN Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, said that portraying Dangote refinery’s repeated fuel price cuts as patriotic gestures overlooks both their timing and their effect on the market.
According to Adewole, the price reductions were strategically timed when other importers had active cargoes at sea or in tanks, creating price shocks that undermined competition and imposed financial strain on fellow market participants, including the refinery’s own domestic customers.
Adewole said it was concerning that the refinery offered lower prices to international buyers while quoting higher rates to local offtakers.
This, he said, contradicted public-facing claims of prioritising Nigerians and placed an unnecessary burden on domestic businesses already operating under tight margins.
“Claims that repeated fuel price reductions by the Dangote Refinery are patriotic gestures ignore their timing and market impact. These reductions were often strategically timed when other importers had active cargoes at sea or in tanks, creating price shocks that undermined competition and imposed financial strain on fellow market participants, including the refinery’s own domestic customers.
“Even more concerning is the refinery’s pattern of offering lower prices to international buyers while quoting higher rates to local offtakers. This contradicts public-facing claims of prioritising Nigerians and places unnecessary burden on domestic businesses already operating under tight margins,” he said in the statement.
On the crisis between Dangote and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, DAPPMAN said it had watched the unfolding tensions with dismay.
“While the matter may not directly concern our Association, we are alarmed by the tone, trajectory, and escalation of this issue. Beyond the reputational risks to various market participants, we are deeply concerned about the potential impact this may have on ordinary Nigerians, particularly in a downstream environment still stabilising post-deregulation.
“As responsible and long-standing stakeholders in Nigeria’s downstream sector, we feel compelled to provide clarity on several inaccurate or misleading claims made in the public space – claims which, if left unchecked, could mislead the public and diminish the collective contributions of other players that have ensured national fuel availability for decades,” the statement added.
Adewole said the assertion that Nigeria’s downstream stability rests solely on one refinery is misleading and dismissive of the broader ecosystem.
“While we welcome the Dangote refinery as a major infrastructure project, its contribution has peaked at only 30 to 35 per cent of national demand. The balance continues to be supplied by responsible petroleum product marketers, including DAPPMAN members, who import and distribute under strict regulatory oversight by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority,” he stated.
It was emphasised that for decades, DAPPMAN marketers have ensured uninterrupted fuel access across the country, investing in depots, trucking fleets, retail networks, and logistics and doing so even through periods of forex pressure, subsidy transitions, insecurity, and economic downturns.
“These contributions deserve recognition, not erasure. We reject any insinuation that DAPPMAN members deal in “substandard” petroleum products. All imports are subject to independent, regulator-accredited laboratory testing in accordance with NMDPRA protocols and global quality standards,” the statement said.
