The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced the supply of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, directly to some oil marketers, bypassing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

It was reported that while more oil marketers are making efforts to procure the product directly from the refinery, others are importing the commodity, with hundreds of millions of litres of imported PMS expected to arrive at Nigeria’s shores within two weeks.

It was earlier reported that at least four vessels carrying imported PMS arrived at seaports along the nation’s borders between Friday, October 18, and Sunday, October 20.

The report, citing a document from the Nigerian Port Authority, stated that about 123.4 million litres of PMS were berthed at two seaports to enhance the fuel supply nationwide.

This aligned with earlier report that oil dealers were planning to import PMS to supplement the supply from the $20bn Dangote refinery.

Meanwhile, as major oil marketers continue to import the product, some have begun lifting PMS directly from the Lekki-based refinery.

A senior official at the refinery mentioned that marketers can now engage in direct business transactions with the company on a “willing-buyer, willing-seller” basis.

“Marketers are already coming to the refinery to lift PMS. They are lifting directly from the refinery, not through a third party,” the reliable source, who spoke anonymously due to lack of authorisation to discuss the matter, confirmed.

Although the official did not disclose the price at which the marketers were acquiring the product, he suggested that they would not be purchasing it if the price were not favourable.

“We have reached agreements with some of the marketers and more are still ongoing. I don’t know the exact price, but if the price is not good, the marketers would not be coming to us,” the official stated.

He further indicated that the situation is improving, particularly with the Federal Government commencing the supply of crude oil to the facility.

Another official at the refinery showed one of the correspondents the trucks of some marketers loading PMS directly from the plant without involving the NNPC.

“Some of the trucks you saw there today were from marketers purchasing the product directly from Dangote, without recourse to NNPC. So the direct sale has started,” the source stated.

The official explained that due to the high demand for petrol in Nigeria and other regions, the refinery is focusing on producing 53% of PMS from its crude oil supplies.

“This could be reviewed in the future if the demand for other finished products increases more than the demand for petrol, but right now about 53% of our crude is used for petrol production, while other products account for the remaining percentage,” the official stated.

When asked if marketers had indeed started purchasing petrol from Dangote without involving NNPC, a prominent oil marketer confirmed.

“Yes, everyone is in the process. This was advised that it would happen soon and is a normal business transaction,” the marketer said.

However, this contradicts some reports suggesting that the refinery could not sell petrol to marketers unless the deal between it and the NNPC was terminated.

The PUNCH previously reported that the company had initially announced that the NNPC would be the sole off-taker of its petrol from September 15.

A refinery source mentioned that this was a decision made by the Federal Government. The same source expressed surprise when the Technical Subcommittee on “Domestic Sale of Crude Oil in Local Currency” announced on October 11 that marketers could now lift petrol directly from the refinery.

“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency,” stated the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, who chairs the committee, in a statement.

Following the committee’s announcement, industry operators noted that the market had been fully deregulated and that they would now approach the refinery to apply for PMS lifting.

Recall that the Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, recently led a delegation of officials to a meeting with the Vice President of Dangote Industries, Devakumar Edwin, in Lagos.

Although Fashola did not provide extensive updates about the meeting with Edwin, he expressed his gratitude for the roles Edwin had played.

“Edwin received us very well and promised to make things easier for IPMAN to do business with Dangote,” Fashola said.

Fashola further added, “We had a fruitful discussion with the group. We have started discussing modalities and other logistics. IPMAN has agreed to work with Dangote. We hope very soon we will start lifting products from the facility.”

However, IPMAN stated that it could not immediately begin off-taking products unless the refinery concluded its contract with the NNPC.

Nonetheless, refinery officials confirmed that the facility is already selling PMS to some marketers.

When the Dangote refinery started selling PMS on September 15, the NNPC claimed to have purchased the product at a rate of N898/litre, which the refinery described as misleading.

The refinery clarified that the “naira-for-crude” committee would be responsible for announcing the price of its PMS. As of October 22, the committee had yet to release an official price.

A one-way flight ticket from Lagos to Abuja on Air Peace is to hit N200,000 from November 1, 2024.

The current economic situation has been affecting the aviation business causing airlines to increase their fares amid lamentations from passengers.

This development has forced some Nigerians to abandon flights for road transport.

It was gathered that the airfares of airlines on Monday showed that Air Peace increased its fares to N200,000 from November, the highest among the domestic airlines.

While Air Peace has N200,000 and above on its website for a one-way trip between Lagos and Abuja, Aero is charging N94,000 to over N109,000; Arik Air has between N104,405 to N139,292; and Ibom Air ranges between N124,000 to over N133,000.

The high airfares have left many passengers stranded at airports in recent times, as they could not secure flights to their destinations.

The busiest routes, Lagos-Abuja and Abuja-Lagos, are more impacted as many passengers find it tough to secure seats.

An official of Air Peace who does not want her name in print confirmed the development, tying the increment to the present Nigeria’s worsening economic challenges.

“If you buy a ticket and see the breakdown, you will discover that we are bleeding as an aviation company and even the prices of running the business are almost getting out of control.

“Just as we all know, all these killing taxes go to the government, and businesses especially airlines have been left with no choice other than to do this, it is what it is.”

Also, efforts to get the Chief Operating Officer of the company, Toyin Olajide, were unfruitful as she ignored both calls and text messages of enquiry put across to her phone.

A businessman, Adeleke Aina, who told our correspondent that he has been travelling by air for years added that with the rates at which “airfares are skyrocketing by the day without any clear explanation other than economy this, economy that, I will be left with no other option than take road transport as my new meanings of movement.

“This is killing everything, fuel has turned into what it is and the Federal seems unconcerned with this abnormality. I fear for this country.”

Riding on its recently released half-year financials, Africa’s Global Bank – United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, where it recorded strong and impressive growth across all its key indicators.

As in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year, the bank’s gross earnings grew significantly by 83.2 per cent to N2.398 trillion up from N1.308 trillion recorded in September last year, while its net Interest income which stood at N443.0 billion at the end of the third quarter in 2023, rose impressively by 149 per cent to N1.103 trillion in the period under consideration.

The bank’s financial report filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Monday also indicated a 20.2 per cent increase in Profit before Tax (PBT) to close at N603.48 billion compared to N502.09billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2023, while profit after tax also rose remarkably by 16.9 per cent from N449.26 billion recorded a year earlier to N525.31 billion in the period under review.

As in the preceding two quarters this year, UBA continues to maintain a very strong balance sheet, with Total Assets rising to N31.801 trillion, representing a 54.0 per cent increase over the N20.653 trillion recorded at the end of December 2023, just as the bank benefitted largely from its technology-led initiatives targeted at improving customer experience over the past few years, with Total Deposits rising to N26.50 trillion, representing a 52.7 per cent rise, up from N17.355 trillion at the end of the last financial year.

UBA shareholders’ funds remained very strong at N3.585 trillion up from N2.030 trillion recorded in December 2023, again reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation and growth.

Commenting on the result, UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, expressed pleasure that the Group continues to record strong and sustainable growth in its various revenue streams, building on its strong performance earlier in the year.

“The UBA Group achieved a profit before tax of N603.5 billion and our intermediation business continues to show strong growth with net interest income expanding by 149 per cent YoY to N1.10trillion and NIM closing at 8.03 per cent, which is 17.60 per cent above the 2023 position, despite persisting macroeconomic headwinds, geopolitical tensions, insecurity, inflationary pressure and exchange rate volatilities across our markets,” Alawuba stated.

According to the GMD, the Bank’s performance has been underpinned by consistent strong growth on all core and sustainable banking income lines, as he added that “Our substantial investments in technology are yielding tangible business value. This commitment is instrumental in delivering enhanced customer experiences and optimizing operational efficiency.”

The Bank’s Executive Director, Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said, “I am delighted at the milestone reached in driving operational efficiency, reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalizing around the 50 per cent range. Shareholders’ funds recorded a 77 per cent growth from N2 trillion at FYE2023 to N3.59 trillion demonstrating the Group’s significant capacity for future growth.

On plans to consolidate its performance for the rest of the 2024 financial year and beyond, Nwaghodoh said, “We remain on track with various strategies to optimize our cost of funds and operating expenses. Furthermore, the Group has finalized plans to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions.”

On plans to consolidate its performance for the rest of the 2024 financial year and beyond, Nwaghodoh said, “We remain on track with various strategies to optimize our cost of funds and operating expenses. Furthermore, the Group has finalized plans to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions.”

He explained that UBA remains committed to sustainable growth in its core banking revenue lines and maintaining its strong compliance and risk management culture, even as the Group identifies further opportunities to expand.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than forty-five million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.