The Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has criticised the recent petrol price slash announced by the Dangote Refinery, warning that such moves distort the downstream market and strain local operators.

Earlier in the week, Dangote revealed plans to cut pump prices beginning Monday, with petrol to sell at ₦841 per litre in Lagos and the South-West, and ₦851 in Abuja, Edo, and Kwara. The refinery also disclosed that it would launch a direct fuel distribution scheme.

However, in a statement on Saturday, DAPPMAN’s Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, argued that presenting these reductions as patriotic gestures overlooks their market consequences.

According to him, the cuts were deliberately introduced at times when other importers already had cargoes at sea or in storage, creating sudden price shocks that disrupted competition and imposed financial losses on fellow operators — including Dangote’s own domestic clients.

Adewole also alleged that the refinery had been offering cheaper rates to international buyers while charging higher prices locally, a practice that, in his words, “contradicts claims of prioritising Nigerians and piles more pressure on domestic businesses already operating on thin margins.”

On the refinery’s ongoing standoff with the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), DAPPMAN said it was “alarmed by the tone and escalation” of the crisis, warning that the dispute could damage market stability and ultimately hurt ordinary Nigerians.

The association further rejected the notion that Nigeria’s fuel supply security rests on a single refinery, describing such claims as both misleading and dismissive of decades of contributions from other players.

“While the Dangote project is welcome, it currently meets only 30–35% of national demand. The remainder is supplied by responsible marketers, including DAPPMAN members, who continue to import and distribute under strict oversight from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),” Adewole stated.

He stressed that marketers had kept Nigeria’s fuel supply chain afloat through decades of forex scarcity, subsidy transitions, insecurity, and economic downturns, investing heavily in depots, fleets, retail networks, and logistics.

DAPPMAN also pushed back against any suggestion that its members deal in substandard fuel.

“All imports undergo independent, regulator-accredited laboratory tests in line with NMDPRA protocols and international quality standards,” the statement read.

DAPPMAN Faults Dangote Refinery Over Petrol Price Cuts

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