Dangote, IPMAN bicker over PMS lifting, import worsens — Business — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

The ongoing controversy between Dangote Refinery and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) over the lifting of premium motor spirit (PMS) from the refinery has intensified, with accusations and counter-accusations levelled at each other.

Amid ongoing negotiations with the refinery, IPMAN has cited a lack of finalised terms for direct sourcing, prompting marketers to await price clarity before lifting.

President of the Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and marketers of sourcing petrol from international refineries while overlooking his facility, even with 500 million litres of petrol in reserve for domestic demand.

Dangote emphasised that increased patronage of his refinery would stabilise local supply and reduce reliance on imports. His position aligns with the concerns expressed by 36 state governors, who, in a communiqué following their recent meeting, voiced opposition to any further importation of PMS.

The governors insisted that maximising Dangote Refinery’s capacity has a multiplier effect on the economy and could enhance Nigeria’s energy security. The National Assistant Secretary of IPMAN, Yakubu Suleiman, confirmed during a television show monitored by The Guardian that independent marketers have not yet commenced sourcing from Dangote’s facility as negotiations on the lifting terms are still ongoing.

He said Dangote should change his engagement model and stop relying on the political class and public opinion to gain sympathy rather than engaging directly stakeholders such as marketers and regulators.

Suleiman expressed surprise that Dangote, during a briefing, urged IPMAN members to acquire products despite failed multiple engagements aimed at fostering a partnership with the refinery.

He noted that during their initial discussion, Dangote insisted on dealing only with individual marketers, which did not align with IPMAN’s principles of collective engagement.

He added that as the highest off-taker of the product, if Dangote could allow Independent marketers get direct lifting of the product from the refinery, there would be enough supply to meet the demand.

“We are in a deregulated system, so therefore, we have to source where products are cheaper, then we would inform our members to go and allot in any depot that the product is cheaper,” he said.

In the same vein, the Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, emphasised that several attempts by the association to off-take products from the refinery had not yielded any positive response.

“The business has its dynamics and I also believe that Dangote is a multinational businessman who knows actually how to market his business but if you have seen the potential of IPMAN, you can’t neglect the potential of IPMAN it has all it takes and I also believe that the first point of call for this business mogul is to take an overview of the entire system and understand where the market is and be able to concentrate on that place, you cannot use IPMAN membership to compare other marketers members and even NNPC membership,” he said.

Countering the marketers’ claim, Dangote has asserted that PMS from its refinery is cheaper than imported alternatives. He mentioned that their prices are benchmarked against international prices and are competitive relative to what costs, noting that if anyone claims they could land PMS at a price lower than what they offer, they are likely importing substandard products and collaborating with international traders to flood the market with low-quality fuel.

“Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities that can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country. Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing, and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.

“In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased,” he stated.

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