Nigeria’s Jetties and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners (JETFON) have thrown their weight behind the Dangote Refinery’s legal challenge to renewed petrol import licences, dismissing arguments by the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and calling on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to cancel all existing import licences for Premium Motor Spirit, insisting that local refining capacity now meets domestic demand.
The dispute erupted after the NMDPRA granted a new batch of petrol import licences to local marketers in March 2026. Two months later, Dangote Refinery filed a fresh suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos, challenging the licences on the grounds that they breach an earlier court order and violate the Petroleum Industry Act, which the refinery argues permits fuel imports only when domestic supply is insufficient.
DAPPMAN rejected the legal action, arguing that import licences are critical legal instruments through which Nigeria’s fuel supply chain functions, and vowed to join the suit in defence of its members. The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) cautioned against any move toward monopoly, emphasising the importance of competition for price stability and product availability.
JETFON countered that continued fuel importation is no longer economically justifiable. Citing NMDPRA data, the association noted that Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption rose to 51.1 million litres in April from 47.3 million litres in March, while daily fuel imports dropped 37.3 per cent — from 5.9 million litres to 3.7 million litres — over the same period. Local refineries, led by the Dangote complex, supplied approximately 40.7 million litres daily. JETFON argued these figures demonstrate that domestic refining is already displacing imports and reducing pressure on foreign exchange, and urged the government to stop issuing fresh import permits to protect local investments.
Source: orientalnewsng.com