… DAPPMAN issues 7-day ultimatum on smuggling allegation, Dangote dismisses threat, vows legal defense
Oredola Adeola
The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has alleged that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery offers foreign traders a discount of over $40 per metric tonne (MT) while denying Nigerian marketers access to coastal vessel loading, restricting them instead to gantry-only lifting.
Dangote Refinery, however, countered that DAPPMAN had demanded an annual subsidy of ₦1.505 trillion to enable its members to match the refinery’s gantry prices at their depots.
Both claims were contained in separate press statements issued on Wednesday by the DAPPMAN Secretariat and the management of Dangote Refinery, obtained by Advisors Reports.
Recall that earlier on Monday, September 15, 2025, Dangote accused Nigerian marketers of importing Dangote-refined products from Togo.
DAPPMAN described the claim as “misleading and ironic,” insisting that offshore Lome is a recognised West African trading hub, not a blending plant.
The association, whose members include Matrix, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, and NIPCO, said,
““Just as the Dangote Refinery is a refinery and not a factory, Offshore Lome is a trading point where cargoes are exchanged, not processed. Pricing ‘Offshore Lome’ reflects international market transactions and is not the same as retail pricing within Lome, Togo.”
DAPPMAN argued that restrictive access and pricing structures by the refinery created the arbitrage opportunities it now criticises.
Refuting the claims, Dangote maintained that while it sells products to marketers at its gantry price, DAPPMAN demanded coastal logistics delivery, which would add ₦75 per litre in extra costs.
The refinery explained: “Based on daily consumption volumes of 40 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 15 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), this amounts to an additional annual cost of ₦1.505 trillion, which they effectively asked the refinery to absorb or pass on to Nigerians.
“Specifically, the marketers are demanding that we discount ₦70/litre in coastal freight, NIMASA, NPA and other associated costs, as well as ₦5/litre for vessel pumping, to enable them transport products from our refinery to their depots in Apapa and still sell at our gantry price.
“We have no intention of increasing our gantry price to accommodate such demands, nor are we willing to pay a subsidy of over ₦1.5 trillion, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government for many years.
“Marketers are welcome to lift directly from our gantry and benefit from our logistics-free initiative,” it said.
Dangote therefore alleged that DAPPMAN’s criticisms stemmed from its refusal to meet such subsidy demands.
Countering that claims, the marketers further alleged that Dangote Refinery had recently exported refined petroleum products to the United States and other countries with well-established refining capacity and competitive supply chains.
It argued: “That market, despite having robust domestic production, remains open to external suppliers in the interest of supply diversity and efficiency.
“If those countries had adopted restrictive trade practices, the export opportunities enjoyed by Dangote would not have existed.”
DAPPMAN also insisted the refinery currently supplies no more than 35 percent of Nigeria’s consumption and challenged Dangote to open its production and dispatch records to independent audit.
On capacity and stock claims, Dangote reiterated it has sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand while supporting exports, maintaining a closing stock of 500 million litres monthly.
“Between June and September, the refinery exported 3,229,881 MT of PMS, AGO, and aviation fuel, while marketers imported 3,687,828 MT over the same period — an act amounting to dumping, which is detrimental to the Nigerian economy,” it said.
Dangote added that it “remains firmly committed to Nigeria’s progress” and open to partnerships with “patriotic stakeholders.”
Ultimatum and Legal Threats
DAPPMAN challenged Dangote to provide verifiable proof that its members divert products to neighbouring countries.
“Smuggling is a national security matter. If any member is complicit, let the relevant agencies act,” the association said.
It then issued a 7-day ultimatum for the refinery to either retract the allegation or provide documented evidence, warning it may seek legal redress.
Dangote has therefore dismissed the ultimatum, reaffirming, “We will not be swayed by threats or so-called seven-day ultimatums and are fully prepared to defend our position through all legitimate means.
It urged any aggrieved party is free to seek redress through appropriate legal channels.
