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Nigeria’s Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), on Wednesday, said they were not opposed to lower petrol prices but warned that sudden and repeated price cuts by the Dangote Refinery were causing heavy financial losses for operators.
PETROAN’s president, Billy Gillis-Harry, made this statement following the announcement of the reduction of the petrol gantry price from 828 to 699 naira per litre by Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group, who also vowed to enforce a new pump price regime of N739 per litre.
Dangote said the reduction was aimed at making petrol more affordable nationwide and accused some marketers of keeping pump prices high despite lower depot prices. He said MRS filling stations would begin selling at the new price from Tuesday, with other partners expected to follow.
Reacting to the price cut, Gillis-Harry said PETROAN was not against lower petrol prices but criticised the speed of the reductions, saying many retailers had just bought large volumes at higher prices. He noted that some deliveries were as large as 120 metric tonnes, resulting in losses running into billions of naira.
“It is wrong to say we are not happy with the drop in prices of petrol. We are happy if prices come down; we will be able to get lower capital for business. But what we are addressing there is that only a few days ago, our members bought products in bulk, and they just arrived, and before they can even sell one litre, in the same market, the price has been reduced by N129 per litre,” Gillis-Harry said during an appearance on Channels Television.
“Some of these products are about 120 metric tonnes; now, multiply the size by N129 per litre. We are talking about billions of naira that is going to be lost. Who is going to pay for that money?”
Gillis-Harry also noted that PETROAN was not opposed to Dangote or his refinery but would prefer advance notice of major price changes to help marketers manage existing stock.
He added that deregulation should still be guided by market conditions, not abrupt shifts that destabilise operators.
He stated, “So, we are not against Dangote at all. What we just want is that in a matter like this, when some of our members have bought some products, we should have been informed of the price reduction.
“That we are in a deregulated market should not mean you should be selling products that are not driven by market indices. Otherwise, we support Dangote, we buy products from him, and we will continue to buy products from him.”
The PETROAN president also said Nigeria needed multiple sources of petrol supply to avoid monopoly in the downstream sector, noting that imports had helped stabilise supply in recent months.
He rejected claims that fuel volumes were not properly monitored, saying all petrol leaving depots, including Dangote’s refinery, was tracked by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
“There is no litre of petrol that leaves the depot, including Dangote’s refinery, that is not recorded by the NMDPRA. If he claimed to have such a quantity in his facility, then he should get a government agency to confirm the quantity because we cannot be bigger than our country.”
