Our hopes dashed over Dangote fuel price – Nigerians lament

Despite the rollout of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol from the Dangote Refinery on Sunday, Nigerians have expressed disappointment over the high price of fuel.

They said their hope on the refinery for a reduced fuel price after recent increment of pump price was dashed with the price sold to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), reports Daily Trust.

The first set of PMS from Dangote refinery hit the market on Sunday as promised by the federal government.

However, many Nigerians who had anticipated a lesser price compared to the present market price of between N855 and N950 were jolted when the NNPCL released a price template for the stock received from the refinery.

By implication, the price of Dangote PMS is over N100 costlier than the existing market price from NNPC retail stations and other major stations.

Nigerians express disappointment

Many Nigerians who spoke with our correspondents expressed their concerns over the pricing of petrol from Dangote refinery.

A survey conducted by this paper also indicated that 76 per cent of Nigerians are disappointed over the price of Dangote fuel.

Israel Ibok, a Lagos resident, said his expectation of a reduced fuel price from Dangote has been dashed, wondering why it is so when Dangote refinery sources its crude from Nigeria.

“We thought that the price of petrol would go down and be a bit moderate when Dangote starts selling,” he said.

However, he asserted that Dangote refinery being a private-owned business could not be driven by emotional sentiments, rather on profit-making, urging the federal government to support with incentives that may reduce the cost of production.

“But we know the Dangote refinery was set up for business, so I did not expect much difference because it is a private business. It’s just God that can help us because the masses are suffering but I believe the federal government can come into this and put reforms in place, maybe subside to Dangote so that the PMS price and other crude oil by products should not be sold at a higher rate.

“We should not buy fuel at the same price as other countries, which do not have crude oil and are buying. Ours should be a bit cheaper because this is where the production is taking place,” he added.

Paul Oyewusi exonerated the Dangote refinery for the increase in the price of fuel, citing the country’s unstable economy as a dominant force to determine price.

Kaduna

In Kaduna, Adamu Hassan, a local guard expressed disappointment over the price announced by NNPCL, saying they just don’t want Nigerians to benefit from the local refinery belonging to Dangote.

He questioned why NNPCL cannot allow the Dangote refinery to determine the price of its products and why they insist on buying from the private company.

Another Kaduna resident, Ibrahima Yakubu, described the situation as hope in vain, saying Nigerians, and he in particular, are disappointed with NNPCL and their cartel in the industry, which is working hard to ensure that Nigerians do not enjoy the Dangote refinery fuel.

“Honestly, I’m disappointed because we were all hoping that when Dangote starts selling, fuel prices and foodstuff prices would reduce. But it seems that NNPCL is not happy with the Dangote company,” he said.

Benue

In Benue State, residents expressed disappointment with the skyrocketing increase of premium motor spirit (PMS), describing the situation as unbearable.

Angel Torkuma, a resident of Makurdi, said the sufferings of Nigerians had reached its crescendo in recent times with the uncontrolled hike in petrol price with its attendant effect on food items at various markets in the state.

“I don’t want to believe we have a government in this nation watching the suffering of Nigerians. Nigerians don’t deserve this and certainly not what we voted for in the 2023 general election. It’s still unbelievable that we are now buying fuel for between N1200 and N1400 per litre here in Makurdi.

“Nobody is offering us any sensible explanation. And as if we are being punished for asking the government during the August protest to ameliorate the sufferings of people, the price of fuel had doubled ever since then,” she said.

Another respondent, Ikyado Jimmy, opined that the price of fuel was bad enough at even N540 but that the latest increment to N1200 was unacceptable and unjustifiable.

Kano

Motorists in Kano also shared similar disappointment that refined fuel from Dangote refinery would push up PMS price instead of crashing it.

NNPCL, the sole distributor of PMS from Dangote refinery, has fixed the price at N999.12 per litre.

An NNPC retail filling station is however selling at N904 as of Monday afternoon. Chain of cars on queue at the station located at Kofar Nassarawa has stretched up to Yahuza Suya spot on the state road.

A motorist, Abubakar Dan Zaria is disappointed with the new price regime as announced by the NNPC.

“Before Dangote refinery started selling its refined PMS, NNPC was selling imported fuel at N904 but now that Dangote begins local refining, the price is going up again to almost N1000. I cannot really understand what is the rationale behind this. It makes absolutely no sense to me. Imported fuel is cheaper than locally produced, how come?,” Dan Zaria fumes.

Another motorist who preferred to remain anonymous said he bought a small quantity of fuel yesterday at Dan Marna at N990 per litre thinking that once the market is flooded with refined fuel from the Dangote refinery, the price would crash but was disappointed to learn that instead of crashing the price remains high.

“To be honest, I am disappointed. Our hopes of cheaper fuel are dashed. Why on earth would NNPC be the sole marketer of Dangote fuel? The same NNPC that monopolised fuel importation and made Nigerians pay through their nose, is now the sole marketer of Dangote’s fuel. We are doomed. I hope they do something urgent about this, otherwise we are doomed,” he concluded.

Borno

Yakubu Musa, a civil servant in Borno State stated that the federal government is not doing enough to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.

“If the government is really committed, now that we have a functional refinery in Nigeria, and we have the crude, why can’t the government sell it in naira to the refinery and ask them to reciprocate?

A journalist, Patrick Mark, said what is playing out on the issue of fuel price is politics.

“Generally, we don’t seem to like ourselves, Dangote has invested to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians but the NNPC refused to give him the crude quantity he requires.

Nigerians in a mess – Economist

Speaking on the issue, an economist at the University of Ilorin, Prof Gafar Ijaya said the country is already in a mess.

According to him, “When Dangote came on board and people were jubilating, the question was whether Dangote would be buying below the international price, which was about $80 per barrel around yesterday.

“The federal government allowed Dangote to buy crude in naira, many people thought it was a favour to Nigerians but at what rate of the naira per dollar. So, at the end of the day, it makes no difference.

“The federal government was tactical and strategic in doing that because they know that if Dangote is to buy crude in dollars, it has to be sourced from the central bank, which would have further depleted our foreign reserves.

“If NNPCL did not take the decision of the sole buyer and allow Dangote to sell directly to the buyer, it would have folded up because they survive on importation.”

Why Nigerians should not expect cheap fuel yet – Expert

Dr. Ayodele Oni, Energy Expert in a chat with our correspondent said Nigerians should not expect cheap fuel despite the rollout of fuel from Dangote refinery.

He reiterated that crude oil is an international commodity and the price in Nigeria is determined by the international market price.

“Crude oil price is already expensive unless government gives subsidy. Dangote is not going to give subsidy because it is a private business. If crude oil is expensive, the fuel might be expensive in Nigeria as well except the government is also giving Dangote subsidy,” he added.

Wait till October 1 – Dangote official

A Dangote official who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity stated that Nigerians should be patient till October 1 when the crude oil sale in naira would commence.

The official said the crude being refined at the moment was sourced in dollars, saying, “What we explained was that the crude we have now is that we got it in dollar. The naira agreement will start in October. For now, we got our crude in dollars.”