Dangote Refinery Denies Legal Battle With NNPCL, Others, Reveals Plan to Withdraw Old Case From Court

Dangote Refinery has denied reports of filing a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Aym Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, as widely reported.

Dangote made this known in a statement published via its official X handle on Monday.

A viral report alleging that Dangote filed a suit against the NNPCL and five other companies over the importation of petroleum products emerged online sparking a huge controversy.

Reacting to the viral report, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, via the statement denied any legal battle with the NNPC.

According to Dangote, the alleged report was an old one and would be fully and formally withdrawn when the matter comes up in court next year.

Dangote revealed that after the president’s directive, they have been in discussions with all parties involved.

Dismissing that no party has been served with court notice, Dangote emphasized that the discussions have made significant headway and there were no intentions of going to court.

The statement read, “This is an old issue that started in June and culminated in a matter being filed on September 6, 2024.

“Currently, the parties are in discussion since President Bola Tinubu’s directive on Crude Oil and Refined products sales in Naira Initiative, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

“We have made tremendous progress in that regard and events have overtaken this development. No party has been served with court processes and there is no intention of doing so. We have agreed to put a halt to the proceedings.

“It is important to stress that no orders have been made and there are no adverse effects on any party. We understand that once the matter comes up January 2025, we would be in a position to formally withdraw the matter in court.”

Investors King reported that following Dangote’s failure to meet petroleum demand by marketers in the country, the oil dealers returned to their former mode of buying the product outside the country and shipping them into Nigeria for sale.

According to the marketers, the move was an effort to save the country from fuel scarcity which Dangote’s inability to meet the supply demand may push the country into.