By Muhammad Mamman
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reaffirmed its position in an escalating dispute with the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), rejecting claims it should absorb an annual ₦1.505 trillion subsidy to align depot prices with its gantry rates.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the refinery said DAPPMAN’s demand amounts to ₦75 per litre in additional costs — ₦70 in coastal freight, NIMASA and NPA charges, and ₦5 for vessel pumping — which it insists it will not cover. Based on daily national fuel consumption of 40 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel, the figure totals over ₦1.5 trillion annually.
“We have no intention of raising our gantry price or paying a subsidy of this scale, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government,” the refinery said, urging marketers to lift products directly from its gantry under its logistics-free scheme.
Dangote added that its refinery has the capacity to meet domestic demand and maintain 500 million litres in reserve each month. Between June and September, it exported 3.2 million metric tonnes of refined products, while marketers imported 3.6 million tonnes — a practice the company described as “dumping” and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
The refinery reiterated its support for President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, pledging to stabilise the naira, boost exports, and create jobs, while stressing it remains open to partnerships with “patriotic and responsible stakeholders.”
