Independent petroleum marketers are starting direct talks with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos to break NNPC’s monopoly in the petroleum sector, especially in the distribution of Dangote petrol.

The oil marketers have expressed hope that they could lift petrol directly from the Dangote refinery as the product’s scarcity continues.

Marketers schedule to meet Dangote Refinery Checks reveal that many petrol stations in Abuja are still shut down due to scarcity three months later.

Vanguard disclosed that Chinedu Ukadike, the public relations officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said marketers hope to reach an agreement with the refinery that would enable them to lift directly from the facility.

Ukadike said a meeting between independent marketers and the refinery’s officials is scheduled this week.

According to him, there was a meeting between Dangote and the IPMAN, saying that the marketers were happy that the refinery had begun to look away from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) as the sole distributor of its product.

Marketers complain about pricing

He said that the Dangote refinery has begun distributing to significant marketers and that independent marketers are hopeful it will soon onboard independent marketers as well.

Reports say Ukadike noted that pricing remains a crucial issue in the distribution of petrol, saying that marketers have to lift the product at a competitive price.

He disclosed that the N766 per litre supply from the Dangote refinery is unreasonable, saying that supply will determine the price.

He said that deregulation is about competition and that factors of demand and supply come into play.