By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has been advised to register with Dangote Petroleum Refinery and make direct payments to the company if they wish to get the supply of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
Recall that on Wednesday, the group through its leader on a Channels Television breakfast programme claimed that it has not been able to lift the product from the Lagos-based oil facility because of its money trapped with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which was meant to take petrol from Dangote Refinery for the oil marketers.
On Tuesday, the owner of the private refinery, Mr Aliko Dangote, while addressing journalists after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, claimed that the marketers have refused to buy petrol from him, wondering if they would opt for foreign sellers.
He lamented that his tanks have about 500 million litres of PMS begging to be lifted, emphasising that he was capable of meeting local demand.
“We have enough supply of crude; we can actually produce much more than 30 million litres every day. At full capacity, we can even supply whatever is being consumed.
“But what I estimated as consumption, which I believe may be about 30, 32 million that one we can even start producing by next week.
“It is not really an issue because, as we speak today, we have 500 million litres in our tanks.
“So, 500 million litres in our tanks even if there’s no production from anybody or no imports.
“This will take the country more than 12 days, you know, with no imports, with no production, nothing.
“So, we are very ready. We are more than ready. And you know, I’m also putting my own name on the line by giving Mr President my word that, yes, we will be able to supply the market a minimum 30 million litres per day, and we’ll be ramping up. We are ready. We’re more than ready,” he told newsmen after the meeting to deliberate on the pricing of the product in the country.
Mr Dangote lamented that the action of the fuel marketers was making him to lose money since “I am not in the business of retail. If I’m in the business of retail then you hold me responsible.”
“I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep half a billion litres inside our tank. It’s costing me money every day. If I am able to collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32 per cent in interest.
In a statement on Thursday night, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Mr Anthony Chiejina, clarified that the refinery “has not received any payments from IPMAN to purchase refined petroleum products.”
“Although discussions are ongoing with IPMAN, it is misleading to suggest that they (IPMAN Members) are experiencing difficulties loading refined products from our Petroleum Refinery, as we currently have no direct business dealings with them. Consequently, we cannot be held responsible for any payments made to other entities.
“The payment in mention has been made through the NNPC, and not us. In the same vein, NNPCL has neither approved nor authorised us to release our Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to IPMAN.
“We would like to emphasise that we can meet the nation’s demand for all petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel.
“At present, we can load 2,900 trucks per day and we have also been evacuating petroleum products by sea. We advise IPMAN to register with us and make direct payment as we have more than enough petroleum products to satisfy the needs of their members,” he added.
“Furthermore, we believe it is instructive for all stakeholders to refrain from making unfounded statements in the media, as that could undermine the economic re-engineering efforts of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Conducting business through public speculation is counterproductive and unpatriotic.
“In the interest of our country, we encourage all stakeholders to collaborate and heed the advice of President Tinubu, while promoting a unified approach, rather than engaging in media conflicts and needless propaganda,” the statement cautioned.