By METROWATCH
The Justice Action Alliance (JAA) has called out the Dangote Refinery to be transparent about its dealings, especially on petrol, saying that Nigerians are tired of the confusion trailing the availability and pricing of the product from the private refinery.
Dangote Refinery had, on Tuesday, revealed that the Federal Executive Council would be the one to determine the price for the petrol produced in the refinery. The FEC, it declared, was already working on a new pricing arrangement for petrol produced from the facility.
It equally announced that its 650,000-barrel-per-day installation officially had unveiled its refined petrol, announcing that the product would be in filling stations in the next 48 hours (Thursday).
Asides this, the refinery also, in a statement by its spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, alleged that some marketers were planning to boycott petrol from the facility, maintaining that the private refinery could be forced to export its petrol.
But the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) dismissed claims suggesting that it was the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
Puncturing claims that the government would be the one to determine the price for petrol produced by Dangote refinery, the NNPC Ltd. added that prices of petroleum products, including those from Dangote Refinery, are dictated by global market forces.
In its reaction to the development, JAA in a statement on Sunday, lamented the back-and-forth going on with Dangote’s refinery and its petrol availability for Nigerians.
Consequently, the Group urged Dangote Refinery to stop dilly-dallying and put an end to perennial delays on its petroleum product.
The statement signed by the alliance Executive Secretary, Benjamin Udechukwu, which was made available to journalists, read,
“We, the Justice Action Alliance, (JAA) are calling out Dangote Refinery to stop confusing Nigerians at this critical time of hardship in the nation. So, as a matter of urgency, we challenge Dangote Refinery to immediately fulfil its promise on the availability of petrol.
“Initially, Dangote said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) would decide the price. Later, it announced that NNPC would be the sole offtaker. But in its reaction, NNPC stated that market forces would determine the price.
“This confusion has sparked frustration among Nigerians, who are eagerly awaiting the introduction of locally refined fuel from Dangote Refinery into the market.
“Truly speaking, we feel it is absurd and unacceptable to claim that NNPCL will determine the price of his product as a private entity or become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment.
“Some believe that this infusion will lead to a crash in fuel prices. It is clear that Nigerians are eager for transparency and consistency in fuel pricing.
“But it appears that the Dangote Refinery is not being sincere and transparent with Nigerians. It’s time for Dangote to provide clear answers. Where is the promised petrol, and what’s the real price? Nigerians deserve transparency and consistency on this matter.
“It is a pity that after numerous delays and missed deadlines, the Dangote Refinery is still deceiving Nigerians despite several assurances that petrol from its refinery would be available in all parts of the country.
“If the Dangote refinery truly cares for Nigerians, it should begin to sell its products even at a lower price, as it and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer.”
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