DANGOTE Group has dismissed reports that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had started lifting petrol from its refinery at the cost of N897 per litre.
A statement on Thursday by the Group’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Mr. Anthony Chiejina, also said the company cannot fix the price of petrol, as it has yet to finalise its arrangement with the NNPCL.
Chiejina, in a statement, stated: “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 finalise our contract with NNPC.
“The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector. We cannot determine, fix or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities.”
The statement urged the public to disregard the report, assuring Nigerians of the group’s commitment to transparency and fairness in their operations.
The Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had earlier said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was working on a new pricing arrangement for petrol produced from the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility officially, which officially unveiled its refined petrol on Tuesday, September 3, announcing that product was be in filling stations in the next 48 hours.
He stated: “It is an arrangement which is designed and approved by the Federal Executive Council, led by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“As soon as it is finalised, which he (Tinubu) is pushing, once we finish with NNPC, it can be today, it can be tomorrow, we are ready to roll into the market.”
Hours after his comment, NNPCL directed its retail outlets to increase the pump price of petrol to N855 per litre, up from the previous N590 per litre, also barely 48 hours after it admitted to challenges in importing fuel due to an $8billion debt.
