Prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for setting the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) produced by the Dangote Refinery, describing the action as illegal and a contravention of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Falana argued that the NNPCL’s decision to fix the price of petrol at N950 per litre in Lagos and above N1,000 per litre in other states, such as Borno, is a “violent contravention” of Section 205 of the PIA, which stipulates that petroleum prices should be determined by market forces.
He pointed out that the NNPCL had earlier stated that foreign exchange illiquidity was a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in PMS prices, governed by unrestrained market forces, as provided for in the PIA. However, the company went ahead to fix the price of petrol produced by the Dangote Refinery.
Falana questioned the justification for selling petrol at N950 per litre without considering costs such as freight, lightering, jetty depot fees, storage fees, foreign exchange, NPA charges, NIMASA charges, and Customs duties, since the petrol is produced locally at the Lekki Economic Free Trade Zone.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has also criticized the NNPCL, stating that petrol from the Dangote Refinery should not be more expensive than imported petrol.
Falana called on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to intervene and prevent the NNPCL from exercising monopolistic control over the petrol produced by the Dangote Refinery ¹.
