Chai! This one no be small matter at all oh! The deal wey Dangote Petrol Refinery and 20 major marketers set for offtake 600 million litres of petrol every month don scatter like jigsaw puzzle. E be like say dem no gree agree on price again.
Di gist wey dem bring come be say November 2025, petrol importation hot like fire, as e jump reach 1.563 billion litres, according to wetin Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority talk. Na dem no wahala give price make everybody chop or wetin? Chinedu Ukadike, wey be National Public Relations Officer for Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, talk say na after one meeting wey Dangote run with major players for sector, dem fit align supply to stop di wahala wey dey happen.
But e be say after one month, di koko don change. As daily petrol prices dey fall for outside, Dangote no wan adjust him own price for local market. Dem set price for N806 for coastal delivery and N828 for gantry, but when international prices drop, marketers begin see say Dangote dey sell higher. Na wetin cause importation wahala for November be dis.
One insider wey no wan show face talk say as Dangote refuse to shift price down, e cause marketers to begin import petrol from abroad. Dem feel say them fit buy beta steal instead of waiting for Dangote wey go dey sell them price wey no gree fall. Na here wahala begin come yake, as depot owners begin dey high prices, dey sell as much as N800 per litre!
As e be now, marketers don dey free to buy petrol from anywhere, and dem don even invite independent marketers to load direct from the refinery, comot di exclusive arrangement. According to Ukadike, if dem no wan collect wahala for distribution, dem need to open market make everybody fit shine their eye well.
Meanwhile, Dangote don confirm say e still dey produce petrol even as him dey carry out maintenance on some of him units. Dem say di refinery still dey capable of supplying between 40 million and 50 million litres daily. So, e no dey shut down; na just maintenance work to ensure all systems dey functional.
As di price drop, people go begin pay attention again, ‘cos even market data show say imported petrol don fall to N696 per litre. E mean say competition dey spark for market but those wey don buy at higher price before dey struggle now. Naija no dey slack for pricing game!
So, make you no forget, petrol price fit jump up again if marketers no fit balance una books well. Na wetin happen when dem allow market dictate di price after full deregulation. E don clear say Dangote refinery still play key role for Naija wey dey look for stability for di petrol market, but e fit still dey boom and shake depending on di market flow. Omo naija, the struggle continue!
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