Oil marketers warn Dangote against bypassing distribution chain, cite risk of scarcity
The Nigeria Oil and Gas Suppliers Association (NOGASA) has urged Dangote Refinery to shelve plans to distribute petroleum products directly to filling stations without involving licensed marketers.
The association warned that bypassing traditional distribution channels could trigger fuel scarcity, job losses, and instability across the downstream oil sector.
Bennett Korie, NOGASA president, issued the warning at the association’s second annual general meeting held on Thursday in Abuja.
Korie said NOGASA had consistently supported the Dangote Refinery project. He recalled that the association appealed to the late President Muhammadu Buhari to facilitate $1 billion in funding and advocated for crude oil sales in naira to support the refinery.
However, he said the latest move by the refinery to adopt a direct distribution model could repeat the mistakes of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which struggled when it ventured into retail operations through its own filling stations.
“Dangote Refinery should not repeat the NNPCL experience,” Korie said.
“Bypassing marketers could result in fuel scarcity, especially considering the challenge of meeting the demands of over 50,000 filling stations across Nigeria.”
He warned that about 3,000 marketers’ employees could lose their jobs, leaving only about 1,000 workers—potentially including expatriates—to handle nationwide distribution.
“There’s also the security risk,” he added. “Many communities depend on product allocations for peace and livelihood. Ignoring them could fuel unrest.”
Korie called for urgent stakeholder engagement involving NOGASA, IPMAN, PETROAN, NUPENG, and PTD, stressing that marketers have the infrastructure to ensure stable supply across the country.
He also praised the federal government’s decision to allow crude oil payments in naira, noting that the policy—initiated under Buhari and fully implemented by President Bola Tinubu—has stabilised costs in the sector.
“But we now ask the president to intervene again—to advise Dangote to slow down and follow the rules. Nobody is against the refinery. In fact, no one has supported it more than NOGASA. But when this issue came up, we had to speak,” he said.
In his remarks, Ikenga-Imo Ugochinyere, chairman of the house committee on petroleum resources (downstream), emphasised the need for collaboration between government institutions and industry stakeholders.
He said inefficiencies in the distribution network—including adulteration, supply delays, and logistical hurdles—continue to affect fuel availability and product quality.
According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) offers a comprehensive framework to enhance transparency, improve logistics, and strengthen product integrity in the downstream sector.
