*Want Tinubu to stop Dangote
WorldStage Newsonline– Some oil and gas suppliers across Nigeria are threatened over plans by Dangote Refinery to begin direct distribution of refined petrol across the country in few days, August 15.
Their fear is that if Dangote should start distributing directly, thousands of depots and filling stations will shut down and the day the refinery has a problem, the entire country will suffer.
Specifically, the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) has warned that such a move could trigger a fresh wave of fuel scarcity and destabilize the downstream sector.
Speaking at NOGASA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja , the group’s National President, Chief Benneth Korie, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene and compel the Dangote Group to stick strictly to its core business of refining and selling in bulk to marketers — rather than handling end-user distribution.
“We’re not against the refinery. In fact, NOGASA championed its success from the beginning,” Korie said.
Korie recalled how NOGASA had previously lobbied the government under former President Muhammadu Buhari to support Dangote with funding and a crude oil purchase concession in naira.
He noted that the same commitment shown to supporting the refinery should now be matched with proper regulation to protect the entire supply chain.
“We supported Dangote Refinery 100%. We even pleaded that they be allowed to buy crude in naira, and the government listened. But we didn’t fight that hard to get the refinery up and running, only for it to now threaten the survival of thousands of marketers and their workers.”
The NOGASA boss likened the looming scenario to the fate that befell the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which struggled when it ventured into direct fuel distribution through its retail stations. He said the complexity of refining, logistics, and sales cannot be managed efficiently by one entity alone.
“It’s the same mistake NNPC made — trying to do everything. Now, their refineries are barely working. You can’t be refining, blending, transporting, and selling all at once. That model is unsustainable,” he said.
Korie called for an urgent round-table discussion between Dangote and critical stakeholders — including NOGASA, DAPPMAN, MOMAN, IPMAN, and PETROAN — to find a mutually beneficial way forward.
He also warned of potential social and economic risks, including job losses and insecurity, if Dangote sidelines independent marketers.
“If 50,000 petrol stations go quiet, imagine the impact on rural communities and national security. The local supply chain — one or two tankers here and there — keeps small towns alive. Dangote can’t reach everywhere, and shouldn’t try to” he said.
While noting that Dangote’s intentions may be noble, Korie argued that the business mogul may be receiving poor advice from people unfamiliar with the realities of oil distribution in Nigeria.
He said, “Carrying an elephant on your head and using your legs to chase a grasshopper is dangerous. Focus on refining. Let marketers handle distribution. That’s how we all win.”
However, he raised hope that Dangote may be willing to reconsider and engage stakeholders before his planned rollout on August 15.
“We’ve come too far to let the system collapse. There’s still time. Let’s sit down, talk, and get it right for the sake of Nigeria,” he said.
Also speaking, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, said Nigerians do not understand the dynamics of the difficulty over the plan by Dangote refinery to distribute petroleum product across the country, meaning the company will be both businessman and regulator.
He said, “We don’t need to pretend that we don’t know what’s going to happen. Because many of us are clapping hands that one company wants to refine, one company wants to stock, and one company wants to do the logistics of distribution, and one company wants to fix prices.
“So that one company is going to be both a businessman and a regulator. And so many Nigerians don’t seem to understand the dynamics of the difficulty.”
Lamenting on what happened in the cement industry, he said, “Because I want to draw your attention to the fact that we also have similar situations in our cement industry, where you are seeing the same trucks supplying cement.
“So, I’m sure you have seen in all your homes and villages and cities, those small, small container shops that are for cement. So, where the cement is not produced from the factory, and also distributed to those very critical distribution centers, have you bought cement for N115 again? From N115, we are buying now for 10,000 plus.”
He however, argued that with a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, which has now been upgraded to 700,000 barrels, the Dangote Refinery should be competing with global refineries, and not to operate as a distributor in the downstream, adding that NOGASA, NATO, PTT could effectively do the job of distribution of the products.
