By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
A week after Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in its petrol price to N899.50 per litre as part of efforts to ease transportation costs during the festive season, retail outlets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and its satellite towns are still dispensing the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol at the old prices of N1,040 and N1,080 per litre on Christmas day.
Prompt News reports that all the retail outlets in FCT visited on Christmas day including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) filling stations in the city sold products at the rate of N1,040 per litre at the pumps while independent marketers were selling fuel at N1,060 and N1.080 per litre.
A drive to many petrol retail outlets in Abuja since Dangote Refinery announced the reduction in the cost of petrol per litre showed that none of the filling stations is selling the product below N1,000 despite the frenzy that greeted the announcement of the reduction of the prices of petrol in the “spirit of Christmas”.
Interestingly, a manager of an NNPCL retail outlet in Abuja metropolis who pleaded anonymity claimed that they could not sell the product below N1,040 per litre because they did not get supply at the price quoted by Dangote Petroleum Refinery Company, the major supplier of PMS in Nigeria at the moment.
Recall that Dangote Petroleum Refinery Company had on December 19, 2024 announced to the world that it has slashed fuel price to N899 per litre for Christmas celebrations.
Chief Anthony Chiejina, Spokesman for the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery, announced the price adjustment in a statement released ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations in Lagos last week.
“To alleviate transport costs during this holiday season, Dangote Refinery is offering a holiday discount on PMS. From today (last week), our petrol will be available at N899.50 per litre at our truck loading gantry or SPM,” Chiejina said.
The refinery has also introduced an innovative credit scheme allowing customers to purchase additional fuel on credit.
“For every litre purchased on a cash basis, consumers will have the opportunity to buy another litre on credit, backed by a bank guarantee from Access Bank, First Bank, or Zenith Bank,” the spokesman explained.
Chiejina expressed the company’s gratitude to Nigerians for their continued support and emphasized the refinery’s dedication to providing high-quality petroleum products
However, expectations that the so-called reduction in pump prices will be reflected across the retail outlets across Nigeria including FCT has disappeared like the early morning dews during the summer period.
The price of petrol had seen significant hikes throughout 2023, in part due to fluctuating global oil prices and the impact of the subsidy removal earlier in the year.
This made fuel unaffordable for many, creating pressure on businesses, transporters, and everyday consumers.
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