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A fresh controversy has erupted in Nigeria’s petroleum sector as fuel importers alleged that the Dangote Refinery offers petrol to international traders at a rate ₦65 cheaper per litre than it sells to domestic marketers.

Both the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) confirmed the claims in separate interviews with Sunday PUNCH.

The allegations surfaced just as Dangote announced a price slash starting Monday, with petrol set to drop from ₦865 per litre to ₦841 in Lagos and the South-West and ₦851 in Abuja, Edo, and Kwara, coinciding with the rollout of its direct fuel distribution scheme.

Speaking on the issue, DAPPMAN Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, said his members were shocked to discover that international traders in Lomé, Togo, were able to buy petrol from Dangote at lower prices than what Nigerian marketers were offered.

“Dangote is selling to international traders at ₦65 lower than what he offers in Nigeria, or how is it possible for some of our members to buy from someone who bought from Dangote?” Adewole said.

He further explained:

“In some instances, we were able to buy from those people and still bring it to Nigeria. They will take the product to Lomé, claiming that they are buying large quantities. I have collated the volume of the products needed by DAPPMAN and sent to Dangote twice, yet he is not giving us products. Even if he would give it to us, it would be with conditions that would not be profitable. Is that business?”

On whether importing petrol was cheaper than buying locally from Dangote, Adewole admitted:

“It’s not all the time that it is cheaper. But there are instances in which it was cheaper to buy from international markets, and not only did we buy from international markets, we bought from international traders that Dangote sold to.”

He also called for discounts to level the playing field:

“Dangote has to give us a discount for the freight cost and other costs that we incur between his jetty and our jetty so that we can sell at the same price, and then we’ll be competitive. People will continue to import if the price is cheaper elsewhere.”

Backing DAPPMAN’s claims, PETROAN President, Billy Gillis-Harry, said:

“Exactly, DAPPMAN said the correct thing. It is true. We don’t want to be saying everything. But the way things are going, one day we will say everything.”

A major importer also confirmed that his company had opted not to buy from Dangote due to unfavourable margins.

However, the Dangote Refinery dismissed the allegations, with its spokesperson laughing off the claims and suggesting DAPPMAN might be behind the recent tension with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

“We now know who is behind NUPENG. Our free delivery starts Monday,” the refinery’s spokesman told Sunday PUNCH.

He also mocked the importers’ claims, asking:

“When did DAPPMAN members start buying petrol from Lomé? Have they stopped patronising Russia and Malta?”

Meanwhile, Adewole criticised Dangote’s recurring fuel price cuts, claiming they were not patriotic gestures but strategic moves aimed at destabilising competitors.

“Anytime our cargoes are coming, we expect him to reduce the price. He may give a different reason for the reduction,” he said.

He added in a statement:

“These price reductions are strategically timed when other importers have active cargoes at sea or in tanks. They create price shocks that undermine competition and impose financial strain on fellow market participants, including Dangote’s own domestic customers.”

Adewole concluded that offering cheaper rates abroad while quoting higher prices locally contradicted Dangote’s public claims of prioritising Nigerians and placed undue strain on struggling domestic businesses.

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