Bloomberg has confirmed that from October, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will determine the price of petrol in Nigeria.
This follows an announcement by Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, that petrol production at the refinery has officially begun.
Dangote indicated that while the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited will have some involvement, a Bloomberg report suggests the federal government is considering allowing the refinery to set its own petrol prices.
Sources told Bloomberg that “Nigeria will allow Dangote to set the price of gasoline for petroleum marketers starting next month,” adding that petrol marketers will now be able to purchase products directly from the refinery.
Speaking on the matter, Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, told Bloomberg that Dangote will sell petrol at market rates.
“Dangote Refinery will not sell below market value as it is a profit-driven business,” Ajayi said. “NNPC and the federal government are unlikely to control the pricing of a private enterprise. The role of the petroleum industry regulator will be to ensure fair pricing and product quality, preventing exploitation of citizens.”