The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has reacted to the rejoinder issued by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in which the latter denied being the sole marketer of products of the new Dangote Refinery contrary to MURIC’s allegation.

According to the Islamic human rights organization, NNPC’s clarification has underlined the need for more discussion between Dangote Refinery, NNPC itself and other stakeholders with a view to reducing the price of petrol, promoting a robust economic flow and enhancing a more efficient supply of the product in order to reduce hardship for poor Nigerians.

MURIC’s reaction was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, 7th September, 2024 by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

He said:

“Our attention has been drawn to the rejoinder issued by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which was dated today, Saturday, 7th September, 2024, captioned, ‘NNPC Not The Sole Offtaker; Market Open to Lower Prices From Any Domestic Refinery’.

“We wish to assert clearly that MURIC did not say anything new. Our allegations were mere repetitions of information about pricing and sole marketing which was already in the public domain before we spoke (https://punchng.com/nnpcl-to-be-sole-buyer-of-dangote-refinery-oil-report/; https://www.pulse.ng/news/marketers-fumes-as-dangote-clears-only-nnpcl-to-buy-petrol/v6cwwrd).

“This is enough to alarm any patriotic Nigerian and the spontaneous reaction of independent marketers to this story is enough evidence of this as they opposed the idea (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/09/marketers-oppose-nnpcs-sole-off-taker-status-for-dangote-petrol/).

“Some sections of civil society immediately declared their preparation for confrontation with the Federal Government over this development (https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/09/05/petrol-price-hike-pdp-labour-unions-afenifere-csos-fume-lambast-fg/#google_vignette).

“This was what ignited MURIC’s interest. Smoke is still rising from the ashes of #EndSARS riots. The scars of #EndBadGovernance protests are still fresh and visible. MURIC is keen on a stable political environment and a virile economy. It was for these reasons that we set the machinery in motion to intervene.

“However, NNPC’s clarification is well noted and accepted. In particular, it is interesting to note that NNPC has stated that it is not the sole offtaker of Dangote products. As laymen in the oil industry, we understand this statement to mean that NNPC will not be the sole marketer of Dangote’s petroleum products. The media equally interpreted it in the same way (https://dailytrust.com/dangote-refinery-free-to-sell-petrol-directly-to-marketers-nnpcl/).

“This has been a major concern of MURIC because we believe that it will not be in the best interest of poor Nigerians for the products of the only available refinery in the country to be in the hands of a single marketer. Another good clarification made in the NNPC statement is that market will be left ‘open to lower prices from any domestic refinery’.

“MURIC assures NNPC and the Nigerian public that our statement was issued in good faith and actually intended to elicit NNPC’s reaction. This informed the way we hashtagged NNPC in our original statement issued yesterday, Friday, 6th September, 2024. This outcome is a ‘win-win’ situation for all. This is what we set out to achieve.

“Furthermore, we congratulate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what Nigeria has achieved so far. We also commend both NNPC and Dangote Refinery for reaching this concession. We assure Nigerians that our concern is the plight of the masses. We acted out of a patriotic zeal. The whole idea is to generate a national discourse, promote dialogue and resolve a burning issue by bringing major stakeholders in the oil sector together to find a lasting solution to the lingering crisis in the sector.

“We urge authorities of both NNPC and Dangote refinery to close the widening gap between them in the interest of the suffering masses. We have no doubt that both groups can still work together towards lowering the price of fuel and making the product readily available. An African adage says it is the grass that suffers when two elephants fight.

“Before we draw the curtain, we appeal to Nigerians, particularly unions and the youth in general, to toe the path of dialogue with the Federal Government instead of engaging in demonstrations. The latter is, more often than not, prone to being hijacked by those who have other agenda.”