The Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has said it rejected allegations by Dangote Refinery suggesting that oil marketers importing petrol at a lower price are bringing substandard products into Nigeria.
The refinery’s claims, made public on Sunday, implied that importers working with international traders are offloading low-quality fuel to cut costs and undercut the refinery’s prices.
In a statement released on Monday, DAPPMAN’s Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, defended the association’s practices, affirming that members prioritize quality and compliance with national standards.
He denied any collaboration with traders to compromise fuel quality for profit, asserting that the association upholds the trust of Nigerian consumers.
“We’ve said this for the umpteenth time, and it bears repeating—those in the downstream sector of petroleum products trade are patriotic Nigerians who will not shortchange Nigerian citizens for filthy lucre,” Adewole stated.
“Our members are in this business to add value and not to defraud.”
Adewole explained the fluctuating nature of international oil prices, which he said directly affects the landing costs of imported fuel.
He argued that any cost difference between imports and local production should not be seen as an indicator of quality but rather a result of international market dynamics.
“To claim that if the landing cost of imported product happens to be lower than that of the refinery indicates importation of low-quality product is not only preposterous but also fallacious,” he added.
DAPPMAN further called out the Dangote Refinery for a lack of transparency, noting that the refinery has not publicly disclosed its cost and pricing structures.
This, Adewole suggested, makes it difficult for the public to understand the basis of Dangote’s accusations. The standoff has intensified competition in the sector, where price sensitivity is crucial for importers and local refiners alike.
The statement read, “This type of submission, targeted at projecting our members negatively before the public, cannot help the management’s desire to have oil marketers patronise its products. What will ensure such patronage is transparency, fair play, and readiness to compete with others, including foreign refineries, on an even keel and on a level playing field.”
Adewole noted the disclosure by the refinery’s management that the facility has a huge stock of 500 million litres fuel reserve came to its members as news.
“We were surprised because we believe that if the refinery has such huge stock, it’s the marketers that should be put in the know first.”
According to him, “Secondly, it was even more surprising given that the news came about the time the refinery was working on rationing what each marketer could pick from the refinery. If they had such huge stock, how is it then that they’re rationing what marketers could buy?
“On all these developments in the industry, the position of our members is very clear: we’ve always played by the rules, and we’ll continue to play by the rules.
“We’ll not be tired of advocating for a level playing field and a highly competitive and transparent sector that’s devoid of arm twisting and devoid of any form of dominant tendencies,” he said.
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