DANGOTE Group says it sells premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, at N990 per litre for trucks and N960/ litre for ships.

In a statement signed by its Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Mr Anthony Chiejina, on Sunday night, Dangote Group said any claim of cheaper PMS price indicated that the product was substandard, noting that it commenced sales without clarity on the exchange rate at which it would use in the purchase of crude.

Economy Post had quoted some marketers who said that Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s price for petrol was N7 to N8 per litre higher than imported PMS.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had also claimed that Dangote’s petrol was more expensive than PMS sourced from other sources.

READ ALSO: Dangote’s petrol price is higher than imported PMS – Marketers

Other associations like the Petroleum Tanker Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) had also made similar claims.

In its response, Mr Chiejina said, “If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country.”

He claimed that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) currently lacked the laboratory facilities necessary to test the quality of imported fuel, leaving consumers vulnerable.

He further claimed that an international trading company recently hired a depot facility next to Dangote Refinery, “with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production.”

“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy. For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips in order to protect their domestic industries,” Mr Chiejina noted.

What marketers say

Marketers who earlier spoke with Economy Post had disagreed with President of Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote’s earlier claim that they were not buying his product, noting that his price was higher than that of imported products.

“He would not be begging us to buy if his price were competitive. His price is about N7 or N8 higher than the imported price. If his price were cheaper, he would not have been begging anybody to buy petrol from him. We are businesspeople and we go where prices are cheaper,” a marketer, who has over 70 filling stations across Nigeria, had said.

READ ALSO: NNPC still pays PMS subsidies despite denials, sells Dangote petrol at N766/litre to marketers

An independent marketer, who would not want his name or that of his business pubished, had repeated the same logic, noting that no business owner would leave places with lower prices and patronise where prices were higher – as far as both places had equally quality products.

“I don’t so much like playing with people’s emotions. It is just about pricing. If Dangote petrol is the same price as the imported PMS, I would gladly buy. We are not asking him to sell below the imported price but to ensure they are on a par,” the marketer noted.

IPMAN’s position

Similarly, National Assistant Secretary of IPMAN, Mr Yakubu Suleiman, had spoken on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme on Friday, claiming that members of the association would go for more affordable options at other depots across Nigeria than the high logistical costs associated with buying petrol from the Dangote refinery.

“If Dangote has a product selling for N1,000, let’s assume, and there’s another place selling for N900, we can’t just say, for the sake of our relationship with Dangote, that we will instruct our members to buy there. We must go where the price is lower, where we will get profit,” he had said.

“As of last week, Dangote’s price was higher than other places. Crude prices are coming down internationally, but Dangote’s rate was N995 per litre, and you have to arrange for your own cargo and loading. With additional costs for transport and depot fees, how can we sell it at the final outlet?” he had asked.