IPMAN Asks Dangote Refinery to Open Direct Petrol Allocation to All Marketers
By Aboki Forex —
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has asked the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals to open its direct Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) allocation to every registered independent marketer in the country instead of limiting access to a select few.
IPMAN National President Abubakar Shettima made the call while addressing developments in Nigeria's downstream petroleum sector. He said the current arrangement creates unnecessary supply bottlenecks and inflates costs for end consumers.
Marketers want middlemen stripped out
Shettima said broadening access would remove the anti-competitive advantages held by middlemen whose logistics charges push up the final price of petrol at filling stations.
"We urge the refinery to expand its direct allocation framework to comprehensively capture every registered independent marketer nationwide, instead of a select few," he said.
IPMAN represents more than 150,000 retail outlets across Nigeria.
Share sale, and a push for local refining
Shettima congratulated the refinery's board on its upcoming public share sale, calling it a landmark development for Nigeria's energy landscape. He said the offering would convert what is currently a private venture into an asset in which all Nigerians can hold a stake.
He urged IPMAN members to take part in the share sale, saying the association sees the investment as critical to the country's long-term energy security.
"Investment in the Dangote Refinery is a direct stake in the energy security and economic sovereignty of Nigeria," he said.
Marketers who become equity holders in the refinery, he added, would be better placed to support reliable fuel distribution across all 36 states and help stabilise pump prices over time, shifting their role from product off-takers to part-owners of one of Africa's largest refining facilities.
Shettima also pressed the federal government to put firmer policies in place to discourage petrol imports. Continued dependence on foreign-refined products, he warned, drains Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves and stunts the growth of domestic refining capacity.
He said IPMAN was already directing its members to source petroleum products exclusively from local refineries to optimise Nigeria's refining output and build stronger domestic supply chains.
"Embracing our domestic refining capabilities is a patriotic obligation that will eliminate costly freight and port charges, stimulate local employment, and pave the quickest path toward complete national energy independence," he said.
Landing costs still climbing
The call comes as Nigeria's petrol landing cost has climbed to N1,314.67 per litre, according to fresh data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), with international crude oil prices pushing towards the $100 per barrel mark amid renewed tensions between the United States and Iran.
MEMAN's latest figures also show the landing cost of diesel, known officially as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), has risen to N1,850.66 per litre, reflecting the broader impact of higher global energy costs on Nigeria's downstream market.
Despite the jump in landing cost, petrol is currently trading below the MEMAN benchmark at major depots across the country.
For Nigerian businesses, the gap between landing cost and depot prices is the number to watch. If IPMAN gets the wider allocation it is asking for, independent marketers could cut the logistics markup that feeds into pump prices. If it does not, the savings from domestic refining will keep leaking to intermediaries.