Just one day before the commencement of Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s direct fuel distribution scheme, marketers and tanker drivers said they had met with the company amid fears that they might be sent out of business.
The PUNCH reports that the refinery would start its direct fuel distribution on Friday, August 15, having received some of the 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks needed for the plan.
Dangote’s announcement of the direct fuel distribution programme had sent shivers down the spines of tanker drivers and members of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria over fear that they might lose their livelihoods.
In reaction, the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria warned that the refinery’s plan to bypass existing distribution channels and supply refined petroleum products directly to end-users would lead to a nationwide disruption, long-term product scarcity, and the collapse of existing supply networks.
The oil and gas suppliers called on the refinery to halt its plan and seek further dialogue before commencing the distribution of products to end users, urging it to learn from what happened to non-functional refineries under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
They also called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the issue, stressing that Dangote alone cannot handle nationwide distribution of products sustainably. The NOGASA National President, Bennett Korie, made the call during the association’s Annual General Meeting held in Abuja recently.
However, tanker drivers and the petroleum product suppliers told The PUNCH exclusively on Wednesday that they recently met with the Dangote Group in a bid to collaborate.
The oil and gas suppliers called on the refinery to halt its plan and seek further dialogue before commencing the distribution of products to end users, urging it to learn from what happened to non-functional refineries under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
They also called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the issue, stressing that Dangote alone cannot handle nationwide distribution of products sustainably. The NOGASA National President, Bennett Korie, made the call during the association’s Annual General Meeting held in Abuja recently.
However, tanker drivers and the petroleum product suppliers told The PUNCH exclusively on Wednesday that they recently met with the Dangote Group in a bid to collaborate.
The National Publicity Secretary of NOGASA, Chinedu Ukadike, and the National President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, Yusuf Othman, confirmed this to our correspondent in an interview.
According to the NOGASA spokesman, both Dangote and the association have agreed to work together through the existing distribution channels. He said the fear of job losses had been allayed, as the refinery assured them that fuel would be sold to bulk buyers for onward distribution to end users.
Ukadike told our correspondent that Dangote would not sell petroleum products directly to end users; he would sell to NOGASA members as bulk buyers. “I want to say that Dangote heeded our plea by agreeing with us that they will be sending these products to the bulk buyers, who are the suppliers. Based on that, we don’t have issues again.
“What we were saying ab initio was the issue of the supply chain in which we have invested so much. We requested that the supply chain be given to us in distribution, which I think Dangote has also complied with, since he is not going to supply directly to end users. We want to appreciate him for that,” he said.
Ukadike stated that NOGASA members panicked because they thought Dangote would sell directly to end users. “We are the bulk buyers; we buy in bulk, and we supply. Before, we were thinking that he was going to supply by retailing to the end users, the telecom masts, hotels, and the rest of them, but now he said no, that he is going to supply to the bulk buyers.
“This is giving us that power as suppliers to continue our jobs. We were afraid that if he sold fuel directly to end users, our labour capacity would be lost and our return on investment would be in jeopardy,” he said.
Our correspondent asked Ukadike if NOGASA members met with Aliko Dangote or his team for the clarifications; he replied, “There was no time when Dangote said he wanted to sell directly to end users. There’s no way Dangote can sell to end users. We have met his team, and we spoke with his communication officer, who assured us of the value chain of distribution.”
SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER
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