The Arewa Youth Assembly has accused the Chairman of Dangote Industries Ltd, Aliko Dangote of attempting to manipulate the Nigerian government into entering a contract that will make the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery a monopoly at the expense of other players.
The Speaker of the AYA, Mohammed Danlami told THE WHISTLER that the Dangote Refinery has made several moves to frustrate the efforts of the government to deregulate the downstream sector and make it competitive in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
His comment came following Dangote’s decision to halt petrol sales in naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said.
But the Group described Dangote’s decision as unpatriotic.
“This development confirms earlier concerns and exposes what we described as a pattern of deception. The Assembly had previously questioned Dangote Refinery’s operations, particularly its criticism of other marketers purchasing crude in dollars while it claimed to do so in Naira,” the Northern group said.
Early in March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state-owned-company also revealed ongoing talks to review the contract, adding that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The company revealed that over 84 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to the Dangote Refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
But the group argued that Dangote’s reduction of Premium Motor Spirit price was not in the best interest of Nigerians.
The group’s speaker described Dangote’s earlier price slash as a “Tactic to lure them into buying Dangote’s products under the false pretense that they were cheaper than those imported by other marketers.
“Now that Dangote Refinery has suspended sales in Naira, we challenge the company to be transparent and disclose the actual cost of producing a liter of PMS. The real competition begins now, as Dangote—just like the marketers he once criticized—is now operating with dollar-based transactions. Nigerians deserve accountability and clarity.
“We accuse Dangote of manipulating the government into a deal that is detrimental to economic progress. His recent attempt to create artificial scarcity was only prevented by the government’s decision to allow marketers to import products. Without this intervention, Nigeria could have faced a fuel crisis similar to that in Niger Republic.”
The AYA said Nigeria has had enough of “Dangote’s self-promotion and misleading claims of offering cheaper products while simultaneously criticizing other importers who, in some cases, sold at lower prices than him.
“This is nothing but a calculated strategy to maximize profits at the expense of ordinary Nigerians.”
The AYA speaker further urged Nigerians to resist being misled and exploited.
“We call on the country’s petroleum regulatory bodies to hold Dangote Refinery accountable and ensure that it operates in a manner that prioritises the interests of Nigerians above private profits,” he added.
Dangote’s Naira Sale Petrol Suspension Shows Insincerity, Exploitative Tendencies- Arewa Youth is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
