By Abiola Olawale
The Federal Government, on Friday, announced the authorization to independent petroleum marketers to directly obtain petrol from the Dangote refinery, owned by Nigerian billionaire business tycoon, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
In a press statement issued by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun , the federal government said marketers will no longer need to go through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to buy petrol from Dangote Refinery.
Edun, who is also the Chairman of the Naira-crude sale implementation committee, also confirmed that the NNPCL is no longer the sole off-taker of the Dangote fuel.
The statement reads in part: “The committee is pleased to report a successful transition of operations in line with the directive issued by the Federal Executive Council. This directive has established a robust framework for local production and distribution of crude oil and refined products for local consumption in naira.
“With this mechanism now in full operation, along with the commencement of local production, we are well-positioned to transition to a fully deregulated market for all petroleum products.
“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency.”
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after retail outlets of the NNPCL adjusted their pump price of petrol on Wednesday.
It would be recalled that the retail outlets of the NNPCL had increased the price of fuel to N1,030 and N998 per litre in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, and Lagos State, respectively.
This comes weeks after NNPCL increased its fuel pump price to N897 per litre from N617.
The increment came weeks after the NNPCL began lifting fuel from Dangote Refinery.
