The Federal Government, has countered claims by officials of Dangote Refinery that dirty petrol was imported into the country by marketers.
The government stated this after a meeting with oil marketers and local refiners of crude oil in Abuja.
The meeting was to discuss issues about refined products’ pricing, issues of competition and the importation of products that are produced in Nigeria.
Also at the meeting, oil marketers stated that though local refineries were producing some of the refined products, this would not stop marketers from patronising other sources, while also buying products from the indigenous producers.
It was reported on Monday that the vice president, oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority of (NMDPRA) of granting licences indiscriminately to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.
Executive Director, distribution systems, storage and retailing infrastructure, NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, said refined petroleum products with high-sulphur contents were last imported in February, stressing that this had since been addressed by the regulator.
Ukoha insisted that the regulator had adopted all the stipulated procedures required for the importation of refined petroleum products into Nigeria to halt the inflow of dirty fuels, adding that refineries in Nigeria were also taking steps to see that the refined products that they produce conformed with the standards approved by ECOWAS for the region.
Asked to specifically react to claims that the NMDPRA had been dishing out fuel importation licences, leading to dirty fuel importation, despite the production of refined products from the Dangote refinery, Ukoha insisted that no dirty fuel would be allowed into Nigeria.
Earlier during the meeting with oil marketers and local refiners, Ukoha explained that the meeting was a continuation of engagements which the parties had been having in the last weeks.
Responding to claims that the government was trying to force marketers to buy products from a refinery in Nigeria, the NMDPRA official said, “What we have in Nigeria is a deregulated market that remains open.
“The law that governs us, which is the PIA, makes several provisions and the authority continues to work towards operationalising all of them. So that’s the guarantee we give, that in the fullness of time, all aspects of the PIA will be operationalised.”
On his part, the Group Chief Commercial Officer, of Dangote Group, Rabiu Umar, who was also in attendance said, “It was a very production meeting. We believe that this meeting is just one of many to come that will move this industry in the right direction.”
