Heated arguments ensue over fuel importation as NNPC-Dangote Refinery price war continues

• The ongoing terms warfare betwixt NNPC and Dangote Refinery has seen substance pump prices driblet much than N100 successful six weeks
• Despite this, the caller NBS study shows that Nigeria inactive spends trillions of naira connected substance importation
• Stakeholders are astatine loggerheads implicit the continued substance importation and what it means for the manufacture

Legit.ng writer Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has implicit a decennary of acquisition successful concern reporting crossed integer and mainstream media.

Amid the ongoing terms warfare betwixt the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders person expressed differing opinions implicit what the continued substance importation means for the industry.

There are calls for the authorities to measurement successful and support home refineries by restricting oregon stopping substance imports altogether.

Recall that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a study past week showing that petrol imports are increasing year-on-year contempt the home refining, and rehabilitation of respective state-owned refineries.

Fuel imports look to inactive beryllium expanding contempt the accrued home production. Photo Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Contributor
Source: Getty Images

Fuel imports jumped from N7.51 trillion recorded successful 2023 to N15.42 trillion successful 2024, marking a 105% spike.

The lawsuit to extremity substance importation

The Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, has opined that the omniscient happening to bash is to halt the importation of thing that can beryllium produced locally.

Yusuf pointed retired that specified a measurement volition not lone support section industries but besides amended Nigeria’s dwindling foreign speech reserves and assistance the state execute economical independence, The Nation reports.

With substance importation stopped the unit connected the naira successful the overseas speech marketplace volition trim significantly, promoting liquidity and giving the naira country to retrieve successful the FX market.

Dr. Yusuf noted that with the 2 NNPC refineries successful Warri and Port Harcourt, the Dangote Refinery being the biggest successful Africa, and different smaller refineries operating successful the country, Nigeria is poised for self-sufficiency.

He questioned the determination of the authorities to proceed issuing petroleum importation licenses successful this situation.

Oil marketers privation importation to continue

In a counterargument, lipid marketers importune that substance importation should proceed for respective reasons.

Despite each the accusation suggesting that the Dangote Refinery unsocial tin conscionable section request for petroleum products, the marketers importune that imports indispensable proceed to debar scarcity and agelong queues successful the filling stations.

They person besides highlighted challenges similar proviso concatenation inefficiencies that tin forestall home refineries from gathering section demands.

The Executive Secretary, Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Mr. Clement Isong, insisted that continued imports will support terms competitory truthful that Nigerians proceed to bask the lowest prices and champion quality.

Recently, the landing outgo of imported substance dropped beneath the prices of Dangote and NNPC refineries Photo credit: Bloomberg/contributor
Source: Getty Images

Dr. Yusuf, however, insists that contention tin beryllium kept live successful the manufacture by encouraging much investors to spell into petroleum refining and summation the fig of players.

He observed that governments successful different countries usage import tariffs to promote section accumulation and discourage imports, truthful that the section industries tin make much jobs, amended economical independency and heighten the macro indicators for the country.

Dangote reduces substance prices again

Recall that the landing outgo of a litre of imported petrol was said to person precocious dropped to N744.72, beneath the prices of the section refineries.

In effect to that information, Dangote Petroleum Refinery did a 2nd price chopped by N10, wrong 2 weeks of the past terms cut.

This chopped brought substance terms down to N815/litre from N825 aft the archetypal terms slash brought it down to N825 from N890.

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Source: Legit.ng