Dangote Refinery President Aliko Dangote has announced that the retail price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, should not exceed N740 per liter nationwide. This statement was made during a briefing at the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery on Saturday. Dangote emphasized that his company aims to ensure fuel prices are reduced, and to achieve this, MRS filling stations in Lagos are expected to begin selling petrol at the new price starting from Monday.

The refinery has introduced incentives for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association to purchase petrol products from the Lekki, Lagos-based plant. Dangote expressed his commitment to using his resources to combat sabotage and reduce fuel prices. He stated, “We are going to use whatever resources that we have to make sure that we crash the price down.” The goal is to deliver on this promise within a week to 10 days, ensuring that petrol prices do not exceed N740 per liter nationwide for the remainder of December and January.

Dangote also called for an investigation into the activities of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, headed by Farouk Ahmed. This comes after the refinery reduced its gantry fuel price by N129 to N699 per liter last Thursday, in an effort to outcompete fuel importers, depot owners, and marketers in Nigeria’s downstream sector.

Currently, many filling stations, including MRS, Nigerian National Petroleum Company, and others, are selling fuel at prices ranging from N905 to N937 per liter. Dangote’s announcement has significant implications for the Nigerian market, where high fuel prices have been a concern for consumers. The implementation of the new price cap is expected to bring relief to motorists and other fuel consumers across the country. As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how the regulatory authority and other stakeholders will respond to Dangote’s initiatives and calls for investigation.