THE Dangote Refinery says it has no fresh court case against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others.

The chief branding and communications officer at Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, clarified this in a statement on Monday, October 21.

Chiejina’s statement came following multiple reports in the media on Monday that the Dangote refinery had dragged NNPCL and others before the Federal High Court in Abuja in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024.

According to the news that made the rounds, the Dangote refinery had prayed the court to void import licenses issued to the NNPCL, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and four other companies to import refined petroleum products.

It also sought N100 billion in damages against the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for continued issuance of import licenses to NNPCL, Matrix, and other companies to import petroleum products importation, despite the refinery’s capacity.

Said to be joined as defendants in the case were NMDPRA, NNPCL, Aym Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited (1st to 7th defendants).

However, in a statement on Monday, Dangote refinery said the case was an old issue that started in June and culminated in a matter being filed on September 2024.

“Currently, the parties are in discussion since President Bola Tinubu’s directive on crude oil and refined products sales in naira initiative, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

“We have made tremendous progress in that regard and events have overtaken this development,” Chiejina explained.

According to him, no party have been served with court processes and there is no intention of doing so.

“We have agreed to put a halt to the proceedings,” he said.

Chiejina said further that it was important to stress that no orders had been made and there were no adverse effects on any party.

“We understand that once the matter comes up in January 2025, we would be in a position to formally withdraw the matter in court,” he added.

The Nigerian Government had on October 1 commenced crude oil sales in naira to the Dangote and other local refineries and on October 11 officially announced the full deregulation of all petroleum products.

A recent analysis by The ICIR explained what should be expected in a liberalised market.