Despite the Dangote Refinery’s recent reduction in ex-depot petrol prices and free logistics initiative, fuel prices at most filling stations across Nigeria have remained unchanged.
As of Sunday, major marketers — including Heyden, AP, and MRS — were still selling petrol at ₦865 per litre, even though the refinery supplies them at ₦820 per litre without transportation costs Punch reports.
Only a few MRS outlets in Lagos adjusted pump prices slightly to ₦841 per litre, drawing long queues from motorists eager to take advantage of the lower rate.
At MRS’s Alapere station, customers queued for hours to purchase at ₦841 per litre, while nearby stations maintained prices between ₦863 and ₦870 per litre.
In Ogun State’s Mowe–Ibafo axis, the MRS station at Olowotedo reportedly sold fuel as high as ₦875 per litre.
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Earlier, the Dangote Refinery had partnered with marketers such as Conoil, Eterna, Golden Super, Nepal Energies, Kifayat Global Energy, and Riquest & Gas to launch a logistics-free fuel distribution scheme.
Under the plan, over 1,000 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks were deployed nationwide to cut transportation costs and reduce pump prices.
According to the refinery, motorists in Lagos and other South-West states were expected to buy petrol at ₦841 per litre, while those in Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Edo, and Kwara were projected to pay ₦851 per litre.
The price reduction was supposed to take effect from September 15, but nearly three weeks later, the expected drop has not materialized.
Some marketers claimed the delay was due to old inventory purchased at higher costs. However, a source within the Dangote Refinery revealed that most major marketers had already received new supplies and should have reflected the price change.
“It’s unfair to keep selling at old rates. They are getting products at ₦820 per litre with free logistics, yet still sell higher,” the source said. “We can’t compel them to reduce prices because the law doesn’t allow us to fix pump prices — even the NMDPRA agrees.”
The source added that the refinery had begun wider distribution and expected more compliance within the new week, noting that “Nigerians are watching and expecting new prices.”
However, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has criticized the refinery’s frequent price reviews.
DAPPMAN Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, argued that Dangote’s pricing adjustments, though presented as patriotic, often disrupt market stability and harm other importers.
“These so-called patriotic price cuts often occur when other importers have active cargoes at sea or in tanks, causing shocks that distort competition and hurt even Dangote’s domestic customers,” Adewole said.
For over a year, the Dangote Refinery has dominated Nigeria’s petrol market, effectively replacing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as the industry’s price leader.
NNPCL’s spokesperson, Andy Odeh, confirmed that the company still sells petrol at ₦865 per litre in Lagos and has made no adjustments.
Independent marketers had earlier promised to revise prices once they began receiving Dangote’s fuel supplies, but as of the weekend, most have yet to do so.
Image Credit: The Leader Nigeria
