Regarding the recent charges made by Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) was interfering with Dangote Refinery Limited’s (DRL) operations, NNPC has made clear what position it takes.
Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC, denied in a statement released on Saturday that the corporation would not be able to offer competitive rates if Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price rises.

NNPC made it clear that it is not the only company purchasing petroleum products in Nigeria and that DRL and other local refineries are welcome to enter the market at competitive prices.

They reaffirmed that global market forces govern the pricing of goods from all refineries, including DRL, and that the current high prices provide local refineries with an opportunity to sell at reduced prices.

The company refuted the assertion that it is the exclusive recipient of products from DRL, asserting that domestic refineries possess the liberty to engage in direct sales to any marketer through the principle of “willing buyer, willing seller.”

The NNPC reassured the public that they do not possess exclusive rights to distribute products from Dangote Refinery and that they will continue to play a transparent and competitive role in the market.

The following is the text of the corporate statement: “The Nigerian National Petroleum corporate Limited (NNPC Ltd) is allegedly undermining the Dangote Refinery Limited (DRL) by its acts. The NNPC Ltd has been made aware of this through a news release issued by the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC. In particular, MURIC claims that NNPC Ltd. is now the only refinery offtaker and that recent adjustments to the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price will prohibit the Dangote Refinery from providing cheaper rates.

In an effort to correct the record, NNPC Ltd. also wants to clarify the following: Global market forces govern the price of petroleum products from all refineries, including Dangote Refinery Ltd. (DRL).The DRL’s or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market is unaffected by the recent increases in PMS prices. In reality, the refinery has a great chance to offer its goods at a discount in the Nigerian market if the current pricing are thought to be excessive.

Moreover, we stress that, as the DRL has acknowledged, there is no assurance that local refining will be less expensive than any global parity pricing scheme. The NNPC Ltd. will only completely offtake PMS from the DRL in the event that market pricing for the product surpass Nigerian pump rates. Any marketer on a willing buyer’s list is free to purchase straight from the DRL or any other domestic refinery.

willing seller basis, as is the case with all items that are currently fully deregulated. The idea of NNPC Ltd. becoming the exclusive offtaker does not exist because the company has no ambition or plan to become the distributor for any enterprise operating in a free market.

The NNPC Ltd. cannot jeopardise a company in which it has a billion-dollar ownership interest.

“. MURIC should have confirmed the facts before making statements that are wholly incorrect and have the potential to incite ordinary Nigerians against the NNPC Ltd. as an advocacy group for fair and just treatment.”