BY SAMUEL ADEBAYO, ABUJA – Dangote Refinery has accused some stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of deliberating sponsoring vicious attacks on the company with the sole aim of frustrating the carefully laid out plan to distribute fuel produced by the refinery across the country.
Dangote Refinery had initiated the fuel distribution initiative by purchasing 4000 CNG-powered trucks which it said will be based on deliver-and pay later arrangement.
The company noted that it is clear that the initiative appeared not to have the support of some actors in the oil sector, particularly depot owners and importers who working assiduously to frustrate it.
Dangote Refinery in a statement on Sunday, Septmeber 14, 2025, specifically questioned the negative reaction of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), saying that DAPPMAN even went as far as reporting the company to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of allegedly trying to create a monopoly by selling petrol and diesel at a low price.
This was as Dangote Refinery also noted that NUPENG last week embarked on a two-day warring strike, accusing it of preventing drivers working for the company from unionizing until the federal government through the Department of State Services (DSS) intervened to end the strike.
Dangote explained that the initiative was not in any way meant to stop drivers who work for it from unionization, stressing that NUPENG’s action was self-serving and a sponsored plan by some vested interest in the oil and gas sector to kill the initiative.
Dangote Refinery however, insisted that no matter what the unions will do, it will still go ahead with its plan.
According to Dangote; “In January 2022, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) reported that one of DAPPMAN’s members had supplied petrol containing over 15% methanol, well above acceptable limits (Methanol which is not a standard industry practice or procedure for refinery, but blenders use it to prompt up the octane rating to an acceptable level that is well above anti-knocking ratio).
“The result was widespread engine damage for thousands of end users. Yet, no transparent government inquiry or independent investigation was ever conducted to determine the source, intent, or full impact of the adulterated fuel,” it said.
This was as Dangote Refinery described as incorrect, the claim that the price of petrol in Togo is lower than Nigeria, saying that the average pump price in Lomé stands at approximately 680 CFA francs per litre, equivalent to N1, 826.
The statement further said; “This figure reflects the very scenario that DAPPMAN and its affiliates appear to advocate for in Nigeria. The Dangote Refinery has positioned Nigeria as a primary source of affordable petrol feedstock for West Africa, despite the refinery importing over 60% of the crude oil it processes.
“Remarkably, the refinery is able to offer petrol at prices below the international benchmark within the sub-Saharan region.”
