The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria and the Nigerian Interfaith Forum has demanded that the Federal Government strengthen the Petroleum Industrial Act to give room for the growth of local refineries.

The CSOs also declared support for Dangote refineries while condemning the demand for subsidies by oil marketers under the aegis of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria.

Recall that DAPPMAN called on the Dangote Refinery to make its fuel supply more accessible to marketers and sell products at affordable rates.

The spokesperson for the association, Ikem Ohia, said that closer collaboration with the refinery would ensure steady supply and end fuel queues across the country.

On claims that marketers were pushing for subsidies, he replied, “We are businessmen; he is a businessman. We’re not asking for subsidies. We went into negotiations and are still negotiating to see how he can bridge the gap.”

Addressing the press in Abuja, the president of COCSON, Ibrahim Suleiman, noted that some of the demands by DAPPMAN will plunge Nigeria back to the days of “subsidy fraud.”

He however, noted that Nigerians will mobilize and resist any move to return subsidy under any form.

Their demand is self-serving, N75 per liter for coastal freight and operation cost, translating to N1.5 trillion, is nothing but greed. Dangote refinery has exported over 3.2M metric tonnes of refined products in three months, proving its capacity. Meanwhile, DAPPMAN imported 3.6m metric tonnes, promoting dumping and sabotaging Nigeria’s economy.

“We demand that the Federal Government and National Assembly strengthen the Petroleum Industrial Act to prioritise and protect local refineries over importation cartels, empower anti-monopoly laws to dismantle cartels that prey on Nigerians.

“We call on Nigerians to boycott any marketer or depot that aligns with DAPPMAN’s exploitative scheme.”

 Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola urged DAPPMAN to adapt to market changes, advising them to restructure and consider taking over the Port Harcourt Refinery rather than opposing Dangote’s model.

Also weighing in on the issue, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gilly-Harris, said the 4,000 trucks were not sufficient to ensure steady supply across the country.

The refinery, however, has maintained that it will not bear the logistics expenses that marketers want transferred to it.

In a recent statement, Dangote Petroleum Refinery described DAPPMAN’s subsidy claim of over ₦1.5tn as “false and unfounded,” insisting that products are sold at its gantry strictly on the basis of production costs and regulated margins.

It argued that marketers, like other players in the industry, must cover the cost of transporting products to their depots, adding that subsidies on petroleum products had been abolished by the Federal Government since May 2023.