Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has refuted claims made by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria that Dangote Refinery's petrol is more expensive than imported fuel.
The billionaire emphasized that his refinery's pricing is based on international benchmarks and is competitive compared to import costs. He argued that those claiming to offer cheaper fuel are likely importing substandard products to flood the market with low-quality fuel.
Dangote argues that his refinery's petrol prices are competitive, even lower than the benchmark set by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for domestic marketers.
"In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased," Dangote said in a statement shared by his office.
The statement also highlighted concerns about an international trading company renting a depot adjacent to the Dangote Refinery to blend substandard products for distribution, which could undercut the refinery's higher-quality production.
Drawing parallels to other countries protecting their domestic industries, the businessman argued that Nigeria should support its domestic refining sector for job creation and economic growth.
"While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good-quality, domestically refined petroleum products in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty," he concluded.