Oil marketers have urged Dangote Refinery to adopt an inclusive distribution approach after the company rolled out CNG-powered delivery trucks, saying the new fleet alone cannot guarantee nationwide supply.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, the national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, welcomed Dangote’s investment but said it must work alongside existing downstream infrastructure.
He said, “All we are asking for is inclusion because there is no way Dangote’s trucks will be enough to supply products to the nooks and crannies of the country.
“We are also investing in CNG trucks, so there is not so much innovation in saying Dangote is the only one with such trucks.
“All we want is to ensure seamless and effective supplies to even areas where Dangote’s trucks cannot reach.”
Recall that Dangote announced plans to buy 4,000 trucks to commence direct deliveries to marketers, 1,000 of which have reportedly arrived, with the remainder believed to be on the way from China.
The delivery model raised concern among marketers that it could sideline depot owners and disrupt the decades-old distribution network that serves smaller towns and remote stations.
Gillis-Harry said PETROAN members continue to load products from Dangote but want formal negotiations and guarantees that retailers will retain access to depots across the country.
The row has also drawn public comments from business figures.
Recall billionaire Femi Otedola commented on the issue, urging marketers to restructure, sell redundant assets, and reinvest to remain competitive in the new domestic-production era.
However, the PETROAN president disagreed with Otedola.
“And I think that (Otedola’s statement) is not a very dependable thought or statement,” Gillis-Harry said.
“Are you telling me that all the investment that has happened in that sector should just be forgotten? We all work together during the petroleum distribution era. Yes, new things come, old things will go.
“But there are infrastructures that consistently will be tweaked to be able to serve even in this current reality.”
The PUNCH
