There is no end in sight for the tit-for-tat between key players in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
This comes as a report by the Nigeria Voice alleged that Dangote is behind the campaign of calumny against NNPCL and its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
According to the report, in a latest move to smear NNPCL, the Dangote Media team sponsored a story titled, ‘NNPCL imports over 200 million litres of petrol in February
despite the refinery overhaul’.
Although NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye has not officially reacted to the claim, petroleum marketers familiar with the development told DAILY POST available data does not support the claim that NNPCL imports over 200 million litres of petrol in a few days after mid-February 2025.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST reached out to Dangote Industries Limited spokesperson Anthony Chijiena for comments on the claim. But he had yet to respond to the enquiry as of the time of filing this report.
This comes amid a viral video by a reviewer that claimed he purchased a litre of petrol from an MRS Filling Station at Alapere, Lagos, at N925, while the same quantity of fuel from NNPCL at Ojodu Berger was priced at N945.
According to the reviewer, when the two fuels were tested in separate power generators, the one running on NNPCL fuel supposedly stopped after just 17 minutes, while the generator running on Dangote petrol allegedly ran for 33 minutes.
However, NNPCL spokesperson Soneye, in a statement at the weekend, described the claim as baseless and unfounded.
The rivalry between NNPCL and Dangote Refinery intensified after the former announced the commencement of Port Harcourt and Warri refineries last year.
Similarly, there is an ongoing price war between Dangote and NNPCL.
MRS filling stations in partnership with Dangote Refinery sell petrol at N945 per litre, while NNPCL petrol goes for N965.
DAILYPOST
