DAPPMAN tackles Dangote for slashing petrol prices

The Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria has expressed its opposition to the Dangote refinery's proposal to reduce petrol prices.

Recently, the Dangote refinery declared that it would lower petrol prices from N865 per litre to N841 in Lagos and the South West, while setting the price at N851 in Abuja, Edo, and Kwara.

This price reduction is set to coincide with the launch of its direct fuel distribution scheme.

However, in a statement released on Saturday, DAPPMAN Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, remarked that characterizing the Dangote refinery's ongoing fuel price reductions as acts of patriotism fails to consider both their timing and their impact on the market.

Adewole noted that these price cuts were strategically implemented when other importers had active shipments at sea or in storage, resulting in price shocks that compromised competition and placed financial pressure on other market players, including the refinery's own domestic clients.

He expressed concern that the refinery was offering lower prices to international customers while charging higher rates to local buyers.

This, he argued, contradicted public statements about prioritizing Nigerians and imposed an undue burden on domestic businesses that are already functioning with narrow profit 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.