The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has insisted that it paid N898 per litre for the purchase of petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, stated this while responding to a statement from the refinery.
Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Office of Dangote, had refuted the earlier claim of NNPCL that it bought fuel from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre.
Speaking with Daily Trust over the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, Soneye had said, "We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter."
He also told our correspondent that as of the time of filing the report, over 70 trucks had been loaded.
Daily Trust had reported how the oil firm had moved about 300 trucks to the 650,000 capacity refinery in Lagos, on Saturday, and loading commenced on Sunday.
But in its statement, Dangote Refinery accused NNPCL of misleading the public, asking Nigerians to await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
In a move suspected of further countering NNPCL's narrative, Dangote Refinery added that the oil firm paid in dollars.
However, in its response, NNPCL admitted paying in dollars but emphasised that the naira sale would commence on October 1, 2024.
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The NNPCL also dismissed the claim of Dangote Refinery that the Sub-Technical Committee appointed by the president would announce PMS price at the refinery.
"The NNPC Ltd has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country."
"The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by Government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arms length.
"The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024.
"The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100% to the general public."
The oil firm subsequently gave a breakdown of its acquisition of from the refinery, attaching the estimated pump prices of PMS across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, "based on September 2024 pricing".
