NNPCL, Dangote refinery logos
By Victory Oghene
The Dangote Refinery has debunked recent claims attributed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, that the company sold Premium Motor Spirit to the NNPC at N898 per litre.
A statement issued and signed by the Group’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, on Sunday evening, said the claim was “misleading and mischievous,” adding that it seeks to undermine the company’s recent milestones in addressing Nigeria’s long-standing energy crisis.
The clarification comes after widespread reports that NNPC had purchased fuel from Dangote at N898 per litre.
Chiejina said that the statement is aimed at derailing the progress achieved towards alleviating energy insufficiency and insecurity, which have plagued the country for decades.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a statement attributed to NNPCL spokesperson, Mr Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per litre to the NNPCL.
“This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today, September 15, 2024, towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has bedevilled the economy in the past 50 years.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was procured in dollars.”
Chiejina further clarified that the current stock of crude sold to NNPC was procured in dollars, with significant savings compared to existing import prices.
“With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature.
“We assure Nigerians of availability of quality petroleum products and putting an end to the endemic fuel scarcity in the country,” the statement concluded.
Recall that the NNPCL had revealed that it bought fuel from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre.
The oil firm had moved about 300 trucks to the 650,000 capacity refinery in Lagos, on Saturday, and loading commenced on Sunday.
The Chief Spokesperson of the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye said, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter.”
