Fuel Marketers Vow to Fight Dangote’s New Lawsuit Seeking to Stop Imports
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market is heading into a new legal showdown after Dangote Petroleum Refinery filed a fresh lawsuit seeking to set aside fuel import licences issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to oil marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.
In a statement on Sunday, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) described the licences targeted by the suit as “the legal instruments through which Nigeria’s fuel supply chain functions,” arguing that they are central to supply security and were issued under the regulatory framework of the Petroleum Industry Act.
DAPPMAN said its member companies have invested “billions of naira” in depots, logistics networks and compliance systems on the understanding that their operating licences are valid and durable, warning that any attempt to retroactively void them would destabilise the sector and inject uncertainty into fuel distribution.
“The import licences at the centre of this lawsuit are not administrative courtesies,” the association said, adding that the NMDPRA is empowered by law to issue such permits where it considers them necessary to safeguard adequate supply to consumers.
While acknowledging the refinery’s right to seek legal remedies, DAPPMAN rejected the idea that a private refinery’s commercial interests should supersede the regulator’s mandate. The association said the PIA allows import licences where the regulator determines there is a need, and argued that this position has been defended in court previously and “should be defended again.”
Nigeria’s fuel market, according to the group, is designed to be competitive rather than dominated by a single supplier, warning that efforts to narrow the number of participants would ultimately hurt consumers.
“Nigeria’s fuel market is not a monopoly waiting to happen,” the statement said. “A lawsuit that seeks to reduce that field of players is ultimately a lawsuit against Nigerian consumers.”
DAPPMAN said it is engaging legal counsel, coordinating with affected member companies and preparing formal representations to relevant authorities as the case develops.
“Our members did not build this industry to watch it be argued out of existence in a courtroom,” said. “They built it to serve Nigeria.”
