-
Eyes Own Refinery Ventures
- Safiu Kehinde
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged its members to prioritize buying petrol, exclusively from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
IPMAN cited the facility’s competitive pricing and its role in bolstering domestic refining.
This is contained in a nationwide directive issued on Friday by the National President Abubakar Shettima.
As quoted in a post shared on X, the IPMAN boss held that Dangote offers the best affordable price for all marketers.
“I am calling on all IPMAN members nationwide to prioritise patronising the Dangote Refinery in their purchase of PMS products, as they already offer the best affordable price for all marketers today,” Shettima said.
The directive comes amid an upcoming enhancement in supply logistics which was Dangote Refinery’s declaration of commencement of direct Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supplies to registered IPMAN members, including free delivery to filling stations across the country, starting from January 2026.
This is expected to further stabilize supply chains and potentially lower pump prices at retail outlets. IPMAN, which controls over 80% of Nigeria’s petrol retail market, argues that continued fuel imports distort market dynamics, drain foreign exchange reserves, destroy local jobs, and deter investments.
Meanwhile, Shettima criticized the “reckless” issuance of import licenses, urging regulators to prioritize local production. “Continuous import is NOT an acceptable parallel business model,” he stated.
The IPMAN boss also expressed the association’s ambitions to enter refinery ownership as he called on the new leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to implement policies allowing independent marketers to invest in and operate refineries, aiming to deepen domestic refining capacity.
The association praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for recent leadership changes at regulatory bodies, crediting them with enabling stronger partnerships like the one with Dangote Refinery.
“The focus of the Dangote & IPMAN partnership has always been geared towards making life better for Nigerians,” Shettima noted.
IPMAN also highlighted unresolved issues, including over N190 billion in outstanding bridging claims owed to members.