DANGOTE Refinery and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) are currently intensifying fights over N1.5 trillion fuel subsidy.
In a statement on its social media on Thursday, September 18, the refinery accused DAPPMAN of requesting N1.5 trillion as subsidies for its members to align with the oil firms’ gantry price of N820 per litre.
“We wish to make it clear that we have no intention of increasing our gantry price to accommodate such demands, nor are we willing to pay a subsidy of over N1.5 trillion, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government for many years,” it stated.
“DAPPMAN and other marketers are welcome to lift products directly from our gantry and benefit from our logistics-free initiative,” the refinery said.
The oil company also accused DAPPMAN of smuggling and diverting petroleum products to neighbouring countries, which created artificial scarcity and long queues in the country.
It added that while it exported 3,229,881 metric tonnes of PMS, AGO, and aviation fuel, marketers imported 3,687,828 metric tonnes between June and September 2025.
Conversely, DAPPMAN has denied all allegations by Dangote Refinery and threatened to sue the oil firm.
Petroleum marketers under DAPPMAN gave Dangote Refinery seven days to retract the allegations.
The group further challenged Dangote Refinery to provide evidence for its claims.
It accused the refinery of offering a $40/MT discount to foreign traders but denied Nigerian marketers.
“It is, in fact, the Dangote Refinery that offers discounts of over $40/MT to foreign traders while denying Nigerian marketers access to coastal vessel loading and restricting them to gantry-only lifting. We challenge Dangote Refinery to present verifiable evidence that DAPPMAN members are diverting products to neighbouring countries.
“Smuggling is a national security matter. If any member is complicit, let the relevant agencies act. We issue a seven-day ultimatum to the refinery to either retract this allegation or provide documented proof. If neither occurs, we reserve the right to seek legal redress,” DAPPMAN said in a statement on Wednesday.
This is not the first time oil marketers’ union is fighting Dangote. Last week, The ICIR reported how the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) threatened the refinery for allegedly reneging on its promise.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.