Dangote Refinery has defended its pricing of premium motor spirit (PMS), or petrol, in response to claims from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) that its fuel prices are higher than imported alternatives.
The refinery asserts that its fuel is priced competitively and is of a higher quality than some imported alternatives, which it suggests could be substandard.
Dangote And His Daughter
IPMAN’s national assistant secretary, Yakubu Suleiman, recently suggested that cheaper imported PMS might be preferable for marketers seeking cost efficiency, citing hypothetical price differences.
However, Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer for Dangote, countered that importing PMS at lower prices could mean compromising on quality.
“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country,” Chiejina stated.
Chiejina emphasized that Dangote Refinery benchmarks its PMS prices against international standards, offering rates below those initially set by NNPC, with sales at N960 per liter for shipments and N990 per liter for trucks.
He raised concerns that an international firm is allegedly using a nearby depot to blend lower-quality products, which could enter the market as a cheaper but inferior alternative to Dangote’s PMS.
Highlighting the importance of protecting local industries, Chiejina encouraged the public to view Dangote’s prices as an investment in both fuel quality and the domestic economy.
The company remains committed, he said, to supplying Nigeria with affordable, high-quality fuel that supports local jobs and minimizes dependency on imports.
