Competition between Dangote Refinery and NNPC leading to a reduction in fuel prices creates hope for further price reductions post-festivities, with Dangote offering special purchase terms and NNPC matching the price drop. Invariably, the Nigerian people will benefit.

NNPC, owned by the government, has been put on the spot lately as the Dangote refinery, which became operational this year, reduced its ex-depot petrol price to ₦899.50 per litre from ₦970. This move prompted NNPC to match this price and reduce its ex-depot price to ₦899 per litre.

Dangote refinery took this step in an announcement by Anthony Chiejina, the chief branding and communications officer of Dangote Group, on Thursday, revealing a special purchase offer to accompany the price slash. According to him, the refinery wanted Nigerians to enjoy the ease of transportation cost at its truck-loading gantry or SPM. He added that for every liter purchased with cash, consumers can buy an extra liter on credit, secured by a bank guarantee from Access Bank, First Bank, or Zenith Bank.

Days after the Dangote Refinery’s announcements, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) announced that NNPC has also slashed its ex-depot price of petrol. 

Joseph Obele, the National Public Relations Officer of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), disclosed the development in a statement released on Saturday.

The statement stated that the step was taken to respond to the competitive impact of deregulation in the downstream sector. “The company recently reduced the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit from N1,020 to N899 per litre.” The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has taken a significant step in response to the competitive impact of deregulation in the downstream sector. The company recently reduced the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit from N1,020 to N899 per litre.

It was further stated that NNPC took the initiative to assist Nigerians who would be travelling during the Yuletide season for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

Over the years, before the commencement of the Dangote refinery, Nigerians used to encounter challenges of fuel scarcity during the yuletide, when there were usually long queues across the country.

This has been attributed to the absence of competition with the NNPC, the country’s sole petrol distributor. Healthy competition between the two companies is a way out of Nigerians’ consistent fuel scarcity. 

Although the high cost of fuel remains a challenge for many Nigerians as a result of President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies last year at his inauguration, making the prices of other commodities like transportation costs and the overall cost of living increase exponentially, the availability of fuel has reduced the struggle for fuel during festivities without disruptions.

This development has raised reactions among Nigerians who are observing the silent price competition between the Dangote refinery and the NNPC and how it will benefit the consumer. Both companies are now striving to attract more customers, and the possibility exists that oil prices may continue to drop even after the festive period.