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The Dangote Refinery on Saturday reverted to selling Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, in naira.
This was disclosed in an email in which the refinery stressed that the development followed the intervention of the Federal Government through
the Naira for Crude Technical Committee Chairman.
“Dear Valued Customer, following the intervention of the Naira for Crude Technical Committee chairman, we are pleased to inform you of the resumption of PMS sales in Naira commencing immediately,” the email read.
“You may kindly proceed to place your orders in Naira for both self-collection and free delivery of PMS to the earlier advised location(s) across the country.
“Thank you for your continued patronage. Warm regards, Group Commercial Operations.
“For: Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE”, the statement reads.
The decision of 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery has averted a looming nationwide fuel price hike in the face of its suspension of petrol sales in naira, leading to the announcement of plans to hike fuel prices by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN.
Meanwhile, the Refinery has kicked against the directive issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery, saying it could plunge Nigerians into fresh rounds of fuel scarcity and inflict heavy loss of revenue on the government.
The company in a statement on Saturday described the directive as “criminal, reckless, and an act of economic sabotage, as the products are indispensable to daily life and the economy.
“The products that would be disrupted and stopped include but are not limited to aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel and cooking gas – all products that are used and required by all stripes of Nigerians and persons living in Nigeria, whether high and mighty or lowly and ordinary. In what circumstance would it be justified for PENGASSAN to so disrupt and introduce insufferable hardship into the living conditions of Nigerians? None that we can see,” the statement read in part.
“The follow up question is, in whose interest and on whose behalf is PENGASSAN directing and intending to inflict such anarchic and criminal disruption upon the Nigerian society and persons living in Nigeria? Most certainly, not in the interest of the Nigerian State and/or the Nigerian public and citizens.
“This is also economic sabotage against the Nigerian State at multiple levels. Dangote Refinery is the only refinery of its type in Africa and ordinarily should be the pride of all Nigerians as well as the governments of Nigeria. It should ordinarily have special protection and status and indeed qualifies as a strategic national asset.
“PENGASSAN may also not be aware that Dangote Refinery is one of the largest contributors to the revenue purse of the Nigerian governments – both Federal and sub-nationals. That contribution is currently threatened by PENGASSAN and would of course be paused if and as soon as and for as long as the PENGASSAN directive is implemented by its branches.”
The company posited that PENGASSAN had no legal authority to interfere in supply contracts between the refinery and its vendors, insisting that the action undermined the rule of law.
“Absolutely no law gives PENGASSAN the right to direct its branches to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. There is also no law in our statute books that would support or enable the PENGASSAN branches having to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. Besides, it constitutes a criminal conduct for PENGASSAN or its members to disrupt and/or interfere howsoever in the contract between Dangote Refinery and its various vendors for the supply of gas and crude oil to the Refinery. Those supply contracts were not entered into with PENGASSAN; they were entered into by Dangote Refinery with third party vendors and suppliers and PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt and/or interfere with the performance of those contracts,” the statement added, calling for urgent intervention by the Federal Government and security agencies.
