The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced the much talked-about free petrol distribution to customers on Monday, September 15.
The company says it is sending out over a thousand Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), trucks in this commencing stage of the scheme, as petrol stations will be receiving delivery of the petroleum product at no cost to them.
The project, which had been widely publicised, is set back by a month, as of the 4,000 trucks ordered by Dangote, only 1,000 has been delivered, with promise of the remainder arriving henceforth on a weekly basis.
Dangote Group in a statement, explained that under the programme, the refinery said the gantry price of petrol would drop to N820 per litre, while the pump price at filling stations will be pegged between N841 in Lagos and all Southwest states and N851 in Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Edo, and Kwara.
The Group maintains that switching to the cheaper CNG powered distribution channel, cuts down the cost of logistics substantially and saves the Nigerian economy N1T.8 trillion annually aside reducing inflationary pressure, and revitalising dormant filling stations.
In a gesture which shows support of the initiative, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), through Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi and Hon. James Terlumun Tor, National President and Secretary, respectively, said the association has urged all members to go register, in a memo issued by IPMAN, leadership of the association instructed all zonal and depot chairmen to ensure compliance.
The memo stated that members who have renewed their IPMAN membership per the 2009 Constitution can now make payments and access petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery.
Meanwhile, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has accused Nigeria’s fuel importers, including Matrix and NIPCO, of sabotaging its operations by inflating petrol consumption figures, making fraudulent subsidy claims and supplying substandard products which have over the years impacted the country’s finances negatively.
Responding to the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), through a BusinessDay advertorial, Dangote Refinery claimed that the 93 million litres daily petrol consumption figure often quoted by marketers is “grossly overstated,” saying that the correct figure is not even up to half of what is being reported.
According to the company, the inflated numbers were used for years to justify subsidy payments, crude swap deals and equalisation fund claims, enabling round-tripping and revenue leakages while Nigerians endured shortages and adulterated fuel.
“The Nigerian consumer has been systematically exploited for years through inflated data and fraudulent practices. The reality is that the country consumes far less petrol than what is being claimed by importers,” the refinery said.