KEY POINTS
- Dangote Refinery says the recent fall in petrol prices resulted from its own 6 November price review, not from a suspended import tariff.
- The company accuses speculative importers of spreading misleading claims to manipulate public perception.
- Dangote warns about substandard imported fuels and reaffirms its commitment to stable, competitively priced domestic supply.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has pushed back against suggestions that the fall in petrol pump prices was sparked by the Federal Government’s decision to halt a fifteen per cent import tariff, insisting instead that the reduction came from its own pricing review.
The company said it adjusted its Premium Motor Spirit rates earlier in the month and that marketers merely responded afterwards, contrary to public speculation.
In a statement released on Monday, the refinery said it cut its gantry and coastal prices on 6 November, and that these revisions were widely reported across the media before any retail changes took place. It described attempts to connect the shift to the tariff debate as a distortion that risked muddying the emerging domestic supply landscape.
The company noted that its gantry price was lowered from N877 to N828 per litre, while the coastal price fell from N854 to N806, representing a decrease of around 5.6 per cent. These figures, it said, were available in the public domain and made clear that the price movement had nothing to do with tariff implementation, which had yet to take effect despite presidential approval in October.
Refinery Says Importers Are Driving Misconceptions in Fuel Market
Dangote went further to accuse certain importers of feeding the wrong narrative to the public. The company argued that these operators were attempting to manipulate sentiment by tying the pump price changes to an unimplemented tariff. It warned that some of the imported products entering the market did not meet acceptable standards and were often sold at higher rates than its own products, which it said were benchmarked against international pricing.
The statement emphasised that the refinery has adjusted prices more than seven times since operations began, sometimes absorbing distribution costs to maintain a uniform price nationwide during holiday seasons. It argued that these decisions were part of a broader intention to ease pressure on households and stabilise the domestic fuel market.
The company also linked the influx of substandard imports to the erosion of other industries, recalling how similar dumping practices contributed to the collapse of Nigeria’s textile sector. It said that maintaining a clean and reliable supply chain was central to its long-term vision for the country’s energy security.
Reiterating its commitment to transparency and consistency, the refinery called on industry stakeholders to work with verified information rather than speculative claims that could unsettle the market. It added that distortions at this stage could undermine the progress made in developing a domestically led fuel supply system.
As the debate over pricing and tariffs continues, Dangote maintained that its focus remains on producing high-quality fuels at competitive prices, arguing that clarity in the public space is vital to sustaining confidence in the sector.
