The Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Monday deployed over 1,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks to commence the first phase of its direct fuel distribution scheme.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria confirmed that its members were ready and have begun receiving Dangote trucks at various stations across the country.
Officials at the refinery told The PUNCH that the direct distribution rollout marked one year since the refinery began petrol production. Originally scheduled for August 15, the scheme was delayed due to logistics problems in China.
A total of 4,000 CNG trucks had been ordered from China to be delivered in Lagos for Dangote’s direct distribution plan, but the deployment was derailed when shipping constraints made it impossible to transport the vehicles as planned.
A senior Dangote Group official explained that more than 1,000 trucks were received by the end of August, with hundreds more arriving weekly.
With the trucks now available, the refinery launched the logistics-free distribution programme on Monday, aimed at cutting fuel prices nationwide.
The initiative set the gantry price of petrol at ₦820 per litre, translating into pump prices of ₦841 per litre in Lagos and other South-Western states, and ₦851 per litre in Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Edo, and Kwara states.
“The first phase of the deployment will cover the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, Kwara, Delta, Edo, Rivers, and South-West states, with nationwide expansion planned as additional trucks are delivered,” the company announced.
The Dangote Group said the transition to CNG-powered transportation is expected to save the Nigerian economy over ₦1.8tn annually by lowering distribution costs, reducing pump prices, and easing inflationary pressures.
Meanwhile, IPMAN President Abubakar Shettima confirmed that many marketers had already applied for direct deliveries from Dangote’s scheme.
“We are on standby, waiting for Dangote trucks to come. There are many of our members who have applied to get direct fuel delivery. The registration is done online by individual marketers. We are expecting the trucks to come tomorrow, by God’s grace,” Shettima had said on Sunday.
On the price cut, Shettima said, “The price reduction is good; it’s okay. We are going to start with the price he said he will give us, because all that we are after is the masses. If the masses are happy, then we don’t have any problem.”
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When asked about critics who described the price slash as a Greek gift, Shettima replied, “We are in Nigeria together. When he starts, people will see what is really going on. We are in Nigeria. So, we will wait for the outcome.”
The Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria had, however, described Dangote’s gesture as a Greek gift. DAPPMAN’s Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, told Sunday PUNCH that members of the group were buying Dangote’s petrol from international traders in Lome, Togo, at cheaper prices than what was offered locally. He claimed the refinery sold petrol to international traders at ₦65 less than it charged local offtakers.
The Dangote Refinery dismissed the allegation, suggesting DAPPMAN may have influenced the recent attack against it by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, which accused the refinery of anti-union practices.
NUPENG had briefly embarked on industrial action over the matter but suspended the strike after the Federal Government intervened.
DAPPMAN maintained that the price slash was announced only because cargoes of imported fuel were on their way to Nigeria. But Dangote insisted that “no amount of falsehoods would stop the fuel distribution scheme.” The company added that its truck fleet will rise from 4,000 to 10,000 this year.
It also accused NIPCO, a major CNG supplier, of deliberately hiking prices to undermine its trucking plan. “We at Dangote Group have embarked on a large-scale CNG-powered truck roll-out to boost our logistic strength and cost reductions across the distribution value chain of the domestic economy.
Even though we recently noticed how the CNG prices doubled a week ago, that will not deter our 10,000 CNG truck roll-out this year. It appears NIPCO, the major player in the CNG business in Nigeria, was targeting our CNG-powered trucking ambition to fail,” the company said. NIPCO declined to comment.
Dangote stressed that the programme would stabilise petrol, diesel, and cooking gas prices, bring relief to households and industries, and create over 570,000 jobs while revitalising dormant filling stations nationwide.
“Our operations have created over 570,000 direct and indirect jobs, spurring community development through new road networks, power supply, and water infrastructure.
The refinery also serves as a centre for skills transfer and technology advancement, providing practical training to thousands of Nigerian engineers and technicians. As for claims of monopoly, we reject these as recycled falsehoods,” it stated.
The group added that more than 42 million micro, small, and medium enterprises would benefit through lower energy costs, and announced it was investing over ₦720bn into the programme. It called on station operators, telecoms firms, and other major consumers to partner in maximising the initiative’s impact.
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Image Credit: Business Insider Africa
