Marketers have requested the Federal High Court in Abuja to reject the suit filed by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE which seeks to challenge all the issued licences for importing petroleum products.
In a statement issued by Dangote Petroleum on October 21 showed that they want to withdraw the suitfiled on September 6 against the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for allegedly issuing licences to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), AYM Shafa Ltd, A.A. Rano Ltd, T. Time Petroleum Ltd and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited (Matrix).
Later on, Dangote refinery urged the court to issue licences for the importation of petroleum products into the country such as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet-A1Fuel (aviation turbine fuel) which the production of the products was in breach of Section 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In a joint counter affidavit filed on November 5, the marketers expressed concerns about the monopolization of oil sector which can be detrimental to the country. They further noted that Dangote Refinery has not submitted any proof to the court.
Among others, they submitted that “the import licences lawfully and validly issued to the defendants did not in any way whatsoever cripple the plaintiff’s business or its refinery.
“The import licenses issued to the defendants by the 1st defendant are in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and other relevant laws.”