Petroleum product marketers in Nigeria have raised concerns with President Bola Tinubu over the recent drop in diesel prices from Dangote Refinery, which has fallen from N1,200 to N900 per litre.
Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, revealed during a Twitter Spaces session organized by Nairametrics that marketers have complained that the refinery's competitive pricing is adversely affecting their businesses.
The situation has prompted the marketers to seek intervention from the government to stabilize the market.
Edwin highlighted some of the challenges facing the Dangote Refinery and its impact on Nigeria’s fuel supply and prices.
According to him, the refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, struggles to sell about 29 tankers of diesel per day due to low patronage from local petroleum product importers.
“As a result of this poor local patronage, the refinery exports most of its diesel and aviation fuel,” he said.
Edwin had earlier said Dangote Refinery products would be exported if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other petroleum dealers in the country refused to patronize it.
“We have been exporting aviation fuel, we have been producing kerosene, we have been producing diesel, but yesterday, we started the production of PMS. So, that was the last stage. The only thing now left out is petrochemicals.”