Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, revealed over the weekend that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has continued to receive repeat orders for its products from all customers who have purchased them since production began.
So far, the refinery has exported its products to a few European countries, Singapore, and the offshore Lome.
During a tour of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and the Dangote Fertiliser Limited complex by members of the House of Representatives, Dangote questioned why a regulatory authority, such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, that was supposed to protect local industries was criticizing the latter and even lying in media reports to justify the need to continue importing dirty fuel into the country.
He said: “I urge you to even set up a committee that will take samples at filling stations and take our own sample because I must tell you that all the test certificates people are flaunting around are fake certificates.
“Where are the laboratories where those tests were conducted? By doing this, you will be able to tell Nigerians the very truth that they deserve to know. De-marketing of a company by a regulator that it is supposed to protect it, is very unfortunate.
“We didn’t know that you were going to ask us to stop by the road and take samples from other filling stations. I didn’t know what you wanted to do until we got here and you requested for a test.
“It is even good that it is your members that went directly to get our samples and I am sure you were shocked by the result. With the result, you can see that we produce the best diesel in Nigeria.”
Dangote also challenged the regulator, NMDPRA, to compare the quality of refined products from his refinery with those imported, while advocating an impartial assessment to determine what best served the interests of Nigerians.
“We produce the best diesel in Nigeria. It is disheartening that instead of safeguarding the market, the regulator is undermining it. Our doors are open for the regulator to conduct tests on our products anytime, transparency is paramount to us.
“It would be beneficial for the regulator to showcase its laboratory to the world so Nigerians can compare. Our interest is Nigeria first because if Nigeria doesn’t grow, we have limited capacity for growth.
