Management of Dangote Refinery has called on members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to mobilise capital, invest in building their own refineries, and compete directly with the operations of the refinery.
As contained in a worded BusinessDay advertorial response to the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the refinery described the latest narrative around unionisation as a cheap ploy and an act of desperation by a group resisting reform.
The refinery also stated that before the advent of higher-quality domestic fuels from the refinery, Nigerians endured scarcity, product adulteration, which it said is a major cause of cancer ravaging many families today, and lasting engine damage, often without accountability.
“This latest narrative around unionisation is merely a cheap ploy, an act of desperation by a group resisting reform. The reality is clear: DAPPMAN should adapt to the new energy landscape or mobilise capital, build a refinery and compete.
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“Recent events and statements made it abundantly clear that the actions and threats issued by certain groups within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are not borne out of legitimate concerns about unionisation. Rather, they constitute a calculated campaign of economic sabotage, orchestrated by vested interests who perceived progress as a threat to their entrenched positions.
“We are not surprised by the disingenuous intervention of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), which appears to be a face-saving attempt to distract from the real issues at hand. In time, Nigerians will come to see clearly the individuals and interests behind this concerted effort to derail a project of national importance,” Dangote Refinery stated.
According to the Refinery, DAPPMAN’s claims regarding the quality of its imported petroleum products are contradicted by facts.
It added that the absence of a single, verifiable, government-owned laboratory capable of testing fuel to international standards in Nigeria has continued to undermine enforcement of Section 317(11) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which mandates a sulphur content limit of 50 parts per million for all petrol consumed in line with ECOWAS standards.
“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. 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.
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“It is easier for DAPPMAN and its affiliates to make such claims knowing that the regulatory authority lacks a single, verifiable, government-owned laboratory in Nigeria capable of testing fuel to international standards.
“We are fully aware of the numerous conspiracies surrounding the certification of petroleum products imported into Nigeria. The so-called certificates of quality, if subjected to an independent forensic audit, would not match up to industry standard, which forms the basis for the actual pricing template of the products,” it added.
It is alleged that from the outset, certain actors are intent on undermining the operations of the Refinery, particularly the planned deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks for the distribution of fuel. This innovation, it said, has been widely recognised as a transformative step towards Nigeria’s long-sought goal of energy self-sufficiency.
