Fuel import court case against NNPCL, marketers overtaken by event — Dangote Refinery
Dangote Refinery has approached the Abuja branch of the Federal High Court, seeking to annul the import licences granted to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, and A. A. Rano.
Dangote, in the petition, informed the court that the NNPCL and the above-mentioned companies obtained the licence to import petroleum products “despite the production of AGO and Jet-A1 that exceeds the current daily consumption of petroleum products in Nigeria by the Dangote Refinery.”
Dangote Refinery’s case is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, which also seeks N100 billion in damages from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA.
Furthermore, Dangote Refinery alleged that the NMDPRA has been improperly granting import licences to the companies for the importation of petroleum products, including AGO and jet fuel, into Nigeria.
Named as defendants are NMDPRA, NNPCL, Aym Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
Lawyer to Dangote Refinery, Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, wants the court to determine that the NMDPRA is purportedly contravening Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, by granting licences for the importation of petroleum products.
Dangote Refinery said that such licences ought only to be granted to the firms solely in situations where there is a shortage of petroleum products.
The refinery demanded that the court recognise that NMDPRA is failing to fulfil its mandated duties under the PIA by not supporting local refineries like Dangote Refinery.
It expressed worries that the import licences issued to other companies by NMDPRA for the importation of AGO and Jet-A1 are severely hindering the plaintiff’s operations, in which it has invested substantial financial resources amounting to billions of US dollars.
The Dangote Refinery said it observed that its products have been significantly overlooked as a result of the purported actions taken by NMDPRA.
Dangote said that NMDPRA has threatened to enforce a 0.5% levy on the refinery concerning wholesalers and off-takers, along with another 0.5% levy on wholesale transactions directed to the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, MDGIF, as stated in a letter dated June 10, 2024.
It said the course of action contradicts statutory provisions that regulate such levies.
Fuel import court case against NNPCL, marketers overtaken by event — Dangote Refinery
Dangote Refinery has said that there is no fresh case against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other petroleum marketers over the import of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
The spokesperson of Dangote Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
His statement served as a clarification of the report making the round that Dangote Refinery had dragged NNPCL and petroleum marketers to the Federal High Court to void the latter’s fuel import licences.
Reacting, the Dangote Group spokesperson said that the matter has been overtaken by events.
“This is an old issue that started in June and culminated in a matter being filed on September 6, 2024.
“Currently, the parties are in discussion since President Bola Tinubu’s directive on crude oil and refined products sales in naira initiative, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC.
“We have made tremendous progress in that regard and events have overtaken this development.
“No party has been served with court processes and there is no intention of doing so. We have agreed to put a halt to the proceedings.
“It is important to stress that no orders have been made and there are no adverse effects on any party. We understand that once the matter comes up in January 2025, we would be in a position to formally withdraw the matter in court,” he stated.
This comes as a report emerged on Monday that the Dangote Refinery dragged NNPCL and petroleum marketers to court over petrol imports.
Salient Times recalls that upon NNPCL’s lifting of Dangote Petrol, the price of the product was increased across filling stations.
Similarly, on October 9, 2024, NNPCL and other petroleum marketers announced another petrol pump price hike to between N1030 and N1200 per litre nationwide.
