Success Nwogu 
xr:d:DAFxocpTMPA:1467,j:4184259400813812845,t:24011309
…Sue refinery
Three major oil marketers in Nigeria have prayed to the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE from monopolizing the Three major oil marketers in Nigeria have prayed the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE from monopolising the energy sector in Nigeria.
They pleaded with the court presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo that allowing Dangote to take over the oil sector would spell doom for the country.
The marketers are AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited. Their position was contained in the reply they filed dated November 5, 2024, to challenge the competence of the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/1324/2024, that Dangote’s company filed to nullify licenses they secured to import refined petroleum products into the country.
A copy of the reply was seen by journalists yesterday. The suit also has the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), as defendants.
The three marketers argued that vesting the plaintiff with the power of monopoly in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, as it is seeking in the suit would kill competitive pricing of petroleum products in Nigeria.
They added that it would further deteriorate Nigeria’s critically ailing economy “and unleash untold hardship on Nigerians, all of which constitute a recipe for disaster in the polity.”
They contented that plaintiff does not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians, adding that there was nothing before the court to prove the contrary.
They also told the court that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued licence by the 1st defendant to import petroleum products into the country within the provisions of Section 317(9) of the PIA.
The defendants said: “That if Nigeria puts all her energy eggs in one basket by stopping importation of petroleum products and allowing the Plaintiff to be the sole producer and supplier of petroleum products in Nigeria, with liberty to determine the prices at which it supplies the products, the prices of petroleum products in Nigeria will continue to rise and energy security will elude Nigeria.
“That in the event of any breakdown in or obstruction to the production chain of the plaintiff which stops it from producing, Nigeria will be thrown into energy crises as Nigeria does not have the reserves that would last it for the at least 30 days that it would need to order, pay for, freight and import refined products into tanks in Nigeria.
“That amidst the glaring absence of any credible and demonstrable proof that the Plaintiff refines and supplies adequate petroleum products for the daily use/ consumption of Nigerians, giving the plaintiff judicial imprimatur to be the sole supplier of refined petroleum products to Nigerians, thereby encouraging monopoly in a major aspect of Nigeria’s oil industry, is a recipe for disaster in Nigeria’s energy sector.”
According to them, granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiff, which is aimed at making it a monopolist in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, will leave Nigeria and Nigerians at the mercy of the plaintiff with respect to availability and cost of purchasing petroleum products in the country.
They also prayed the court that they are fully qualified for the import licenses issued to them by the 1st Defendant, as they duly met all the legal requirements.
They said: “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 licences issued to the defendants by the 1st defendant are in line with the provisions of Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 and other relevant laws.”
Recall that Dangote Refinery had in the suit, questioned propriety of licenses that were issued to other major oil marketers to import refined petroleum products into Nigeria when, according to it, it has not recorded any shortfall in its own operations.
The plaintiff had argued that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) acted in breach of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products to the defendants.
