Petrol Diversion: Go to Court—Dangote Dares DAPPMAN

By Adedapo Adesanya

The rift between Dangote Group and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) may soon continue at the court as the former has challenged the latter to go ahead with its threat of a lawsuit.

Recall that Dangote accused the association of diverting petroleum products to neighbouring countries, which DAPPMAN did not find funny.

It gave the firm an ultimatum to retract the allegation, adding that only then will it stop from going ahead with the threatened litigation.

The rift between DAPPMAN and the Dangote Group has recently escalated sharply following accusation and recrimination over perceived shady dealings in the petroleum marketing sector between the two major groups.

The development comes at a time the Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector is gripped by tension over pricing, supply, and competition, as Dangote rolls out his nationwide distribution initiative.

The legal threat marks a new chapter in the interactions between these powerful entities, highlighting how serious the claims are perceived.

The Dangote Refinery alleged that its refusal to comply with DAPPMAN’s subsidy request is the core reason behind recent public criticisms and attacks.

It reiterated that the refinery has sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand and support export as it consistently maintains a closing stock of 500 million litres of refined products in its tanks each month.

In a statement on Wednesday, Dangote Refinery stressed that any party aggrieved by the content of the publication was free to seek redress through appropriate legal channels, noting that it will not be swayed by threats or so-called seven-day ultimatums and is fully prepared to defend its position through all legitimate means.

“Specifically, the marketers are demanding that we discount N70/litre in coastal freight, NIMASA, NPA and other associated costs as well as N5/litre for the cost of pumping into vessels to enable them to transport products from our refinery to their depots in Apapa and sell at the same price as our gantry.

“We wish to make it clear that we have no intention of increasing our gantry price to accommodate such demands, nor are we willing to pay a subsidy of over N1.5 trillion, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government for many years. DAPPMAN and other marketers are welcome to lift products directly from our gantry and benefit from our logistics-free initiative,” Dangote stated, noting that agreeing to this will amount to payment of about N1.5 trillion annually to the marketers.