Olufemi Adeyemi 

The President of Dangote Group, recognized as Africa's wealthiest individual, has stated that the price of petrol from Dangote Refinery is 15 percent lower than that of imports from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

This assertion was made during an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday.

His remarks follow NNPCL's announcement that it purchased petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898 per liter when it lifted the locally produced petrol on September 15, 2024.

Reports from BrandIconImage indicate that this situation prompted NNPCL to revise its petrol prices, which now range from N950 to N1,100 at filling stations nationwide.

The ongoing petrol price dispute between NNPCL and Dangote Refinery has caused significant confusion within the oil and gas industry over the past week.

However, Dangote clarified that when NNPCL acquired its petrol, the state-owned company also imported approximately 800,000 metric tons of gasoline, asserting that his product remains more affordable than the imported alternative.

He emphasized that the price NNPCL reported for Dangote petrol does not reflect the actual cost but rather includes profit margins and additional expenses.

He pointed out that Nigerians are unaware of the true costs incurred by NNPCL for imported petrol, which he claims is 15 percent higher than that of Dangote petrol.

“There wasn’t a disagreement, per se. NNPC bought from us on the 15th of September at the international price, which they also bought, about 800,000 metric tons of gasoline imported.

“So the one that they bought from us is cheaper than the one they are importing.

“And so when they announced our price, the guy, I don’t know whether he was authorized. It wasn’t the real price. What they have announced is most likely what it cost them, including profit and other expenses.

“And then the other one is one that they imported. But the people don’t know how much they spend in terms of imports, but their importation is almost, maybe about 15 percent more expensive than ours, you know.

“So what they are supposed to do is to sell at a basket price, or if they want to remove subsidy, they can announce that they will remove subsidy, which is okay, everybody you know, will adjust it.”

Dangote previously expressed that the Nigerian Government ought to eliminate the fuel subsidy entirely. In related news, petrol marketers have reported purchasing imported petrol from NNPCL at an average price of N870 per liter.