- Safiu Kehinde
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has dropped its N100 billion lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and five major oil marketers.
Dangote had in filed the suit, tagged FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, against NMDPRA, NNPC Ltd, AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
The refinery had accused the NMDPRA of continuing to issue import licences for refined petroleum products such as Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) and Jet-A1 (aviation fuel).
It demanded N100 billion in damages as it argued that the ongoing issuance of import permits undermined its $20 billion investment in the Lekki-based facility.
In counter-reaction, the oil marketers reportedly pushed back against the refinery’s position, citing Nigeria’s deregulated downstream market structure.
They argued that importers and distributors had the right to source products either through international markets or from Dangote’s refinery, without regulatory constraints favouring one supplier over others.
While the refinery and NMDPRA are yet to officially confirm the withdrawal, the sgined and stamped notice of discontinuance issued by legal firm Ahmed Raji & Co. and disclosed by the Guardian reads;
“TAKE NOTICE that the Plaintiff herein discontinues this Suit against the Defendants forthwith.”