The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has expressed concerns over the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) pricing of petrol lifted from the Dangote Refinery.

IPMAN National Welfare Officer, John Kekeocha, spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, questioning the logic behind selling Dangote Refinery petrol at a higher price than imported products.

Kekeocha asked, “If NNPC can sell Dangote products higher than the imported products then it doesn’t make sense. What is the celebration we are having all these while then?”

NNPCL began loading petrol from the Dangote Refinery on Sunday, stating it purchased the petrol at N898 per litre. However, IPMAN notes that NNPCL retail outlets in Lagos previously sold petrol for around N855, but now sell Dangote petrol for N950 per litre in Lagos and N1,019 in Borno.

However, Dangote Refinery denied selling petrol to the NNPCL at N898. A spokesman for the refinery Anthony Chiejina in a statement late Sunday described the claim by the NNPCL as “misleading and mischievous”.

“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature,” Chiejina said.

NNPCL insisted that it got petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre and challenged the latter to release the price it sold petrol. The NNPCL further released a breakdown of pricing it sell Dangote petrol at its filling stations across the country.

Last December, Dangote, Africa’s leading industrialist, commenced operations at his $20bn facility sited in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day.

The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.

The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational. The country is heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPC being the major importer of the essential commodities.

Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol tripled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023, from around ₦200/litre to over ₦1000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has released a revised breakdown of the estimated price of petrol purchased from the Dangote refinery.

Earlier, NNPC issued a statement on Monday providing a chart breakdown of the refined petrol product bought from the refinery on September 15.

According to the statement, NNPC is paying for the September 2024 petrol offtake from Dangote refinery in United States dollars. However, Naira transactions are scheduled to commence on October 1, 2024.

The statement reads, “The NNPC Ltd. has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country.

“The estimated prices are based on negotiated terms between NNPC Ltd. and Dangote Refinery which recognise the current international gasoline prices and the prevailing foreign exchange rate in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

“The NNPC Ltd. can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024.

“We reassure Nigerians that any discount from the Dangote Refinery will be passed on 100% to the general public.”

While the data of the estimated price to be sold around the country remains the same, the analysis of the transaction it had with Dangote Refinery was altered.

While the first press statement on Monday had a Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority fee of ₦8.99, the second statement showed ₦4.495.

The first statement had an inspection fee of ₦0.97, a margin fee of ₦26.48 and a distribution fee of ₦15.

In the second statement on Monday, there were no inspection and margin fees, while the distribution fee was changed to ₦42.45.

The second statement also had an additional Midstream and Gas Infrastructure Fund fee of ₦4.495.

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced that 110 million Nigerians have registered for the National Identification Number (NIN), representing a 2.4% increase from the 107.34 million recorded at the end of May.

NIMC Director-General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed this on Monday at the sixth edition of the National Day of Identity in Abuja, themed “Digital Public Infrastructure: Enabling Access to Services.”

Coker-Odusote attributed the achievement to NIMC’s strategic plan and emphasized the crucial role digital public infrastructure (DPI) plays in Nigeria’s economic development.

“The role of DPI has become indispensable to Nigeria’s economic development, as it offers a framework that connects citizens to essential services such as social welfare, healthcare, education, and financial inclusion,” Coker-Odusote said.

“At the forefront of this transformation is NIMC, responsible for the National Identification Number, which has enrolled over 110 million Nigerians.

“This provides a unique opportunity for the other two pillars of the DPI – data exchange and payment – to be layered on foundational identity for its effective development and adoption.”

Coker-Odusote said digital infrastructure has supported the government and financial institutions in enabling digital payments, digital money, digital identity and digital processes.

She said the student loan initiative, which has supported 257 institutions, registered 332,715 students for loans, and disbursed payments to over 18,000 students, demonstrates how DPI can remove financial obstacles to education

“I must say we are on the right path and key strides have been made through collaboration and partnerships with government agencies and private sector players linking of NINs and phone numbers with the telecommunication companies, NIN and bank verification number harmonisation with financial institutions to facilitate digital payments, digital money, digital identity and digital processes, amongst others,” she said.

“Furthermore, the student loan initiative showcases how DPI can eliminate financial barriers to education.

“Our journey with DPI reflects its similarity to physical infrastructure, requiring it to be open, interoperable and guided by set of governance rules and as such the public and private sectors need to intensify their partnership to drive innovation within the digital identity space and reap the benefits of DPI.”

Coker-Odusote said international collaboration is also essential in integrating innovative solutions and leveraging global expertise while ensuring Nigeria’s DPI remains competitive.

This strategy, she said, would enhance service delivery, boost our social investment programmes, and position Nigeria as a global player in the digital economy.

The enrolment increase may be a result of several announcements by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NNC), threatening to block unlinked phone lines.

On August 28, the NCC announced September 14 as the “final deadline” for its NIN-SIM linkage exercise, directing all mobile network operators (MNOs) to complete the verification and linkage of SIMs to NINs by the set date.

The commission had said over 153 million SIMs have been successfully linked to a NIN, “reflecting an impressive compliance rate of 96 percent, a substantial increase from 69.7 percent in January 2024″.