By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has countered the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN )’s claim that its planned strategy to bypass middlemen and directly supply Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), diesel and other petroleum products to end-users will cripple the economy.
PETROAN had, over the weekend, expressed fear that the local refinery’s distribution plan may lead to loss of jobs among other negative impacts on the economy.
The indigenous facility, however, said its distribution of fuel to petrol station operators, manufacturers, telecommunications companies, the aviation sector, and other large-scale users, with free logistics support, will instead create jobs and cut inflation.
Dangote refinery made this claim in a statement dated June 17th, 2025 but made available to journalists on Wednesday.
According to the statement the firm gathered opinions of experts in favour of the scheme to mount a defence against PETROAN’s concerns.
“This initiative has the potential to dismantle the dominance of powerful middlemen, who have in the past stalled progress and held entities like the NNPCL hostage. However, Nigerians will judge it by its impact on fuel prices. If it leads to cheaper petrol at the pump, it will ease inflation, considering fuel costs and exchange rates are key inflationary drivers in Nigeria,” one professor Oyarinu Oyarinu was quoted.
“Logistics currently account for between 10 per cent and 30 per cent of fuel prices. Eliminating this cost will naturally reduce pump prices. Rural dwellers often pay more for fuel than those in urban areas, despite earning less. This initiative could revive disused filling stations and ensure more equitable distribution,” the local refinery quoted another energy expert, Ibukun Phillips.
Phillips added that the scheme would also generate employment, with at least 8,000 drivers expected to be hired to kickstart the operation.
Also, an energy expert and co-founder of Dairy Hills, Kelvin Emmanuel, said Dangote’s move to cover logistics costs marked a critical shift that could allow Nigerians to finally benefit from domestic refining.
“Dangote is taking on the burden of transportation, storage, and bridging costs that should have been streamlined long ago. This is in response to the resistance from vested interests who have tried to frustrate fair and efficient distribution,” an energy expert and co-founder of Dairy Hills, Kelvin Emmanuel was said to have argued in favour of the scheme.
