But Dangote Group’s Spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, in his response described NNPC’s claims as “both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today…”
However Soneye insisted that “If the price isn’t ₦898, then what is it? We would be happy to receive a discount. Throughout the day, various figures have been circulating—some claiming ₦1,300, *Punch* reported around ₦767, and another outlet mentioned ₦500. It’s our responsibility to clarify the facts.”
According to him, “the truth is, the government is not setting fuel prices, nor is NNPC Ltd. It’s a deregulated market where prices are determined by market forces.”
Dangote’s statement reads in full:
“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 bedeviled 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.
It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPC in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. 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 product and putting an end to the endemic fuel scarcity in the country.”
However, trouble started shortly after Dangote Refinery started loading petrol on Sunday. NNPCL had confirmed that over 70 trucks belonging to the state-owned firm loaded Dangote Petrol on Sunday.