The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has suspended its discounted fuel supply programme following the discovery of a diversion racket involving some of its affiliate marketers and strategic partners.
In a recent statement, the refinery disclosed that internal investigations uncovered how marketers, who were granted access to subsidised refined petroleum products to support affordability and ensure availability across retail stations, were diverting the products for personal gain.
According to the refinery, instead of distributing the discounted fuel through approved channels, some marketers re-routed loaded trucks to unregistered third-party dealers. This, the statement noted, allowed them to profiteer from the price differential without bearing the standard costs of transportation, retail operations, or regulatory compliance.
The discounted supply scheme was initially introduced to help Dangote’s authorised affiliates maintain competitive profit margins amid growing rivalry with fuel importers and to strengthen the refinery’s retail footprint across Nigeria. However, the refinery said the actions of the defaulting marketers defeated the purpose of the programme.
It further revealed that some marketers had been sharing their “Authority to Collect” tickets used for loading fuel at the refinery with unauthorized importers. This enabled the non-affiliated marketers to collect products at discounted rates, sidestepping the legitimate supply chain and inflating their profits.
The refinery said it is taking immediate steps to investigate all parties involved, review existing partnerships, and strengthen its compliance protocols to prevent future abuse.
