The Arewa Youth Assembly has urged Dangote Refinery to transparently make public the cost of refining a liter of fuel.
“This transparency will enable Nigerians to hold the right parties accountable,” the assembly said.
The Arewa youth organisation was reacting to recent statement by Muslims Right Concern (MURIC), which blamed the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL for the rising price of Petrol.
MURIC had in a recent statement blamed NNPCL for the increase in petroleum prices and allegedly acting against the Dangote refinery.
The reaction by Arewa Youth Assembly was contained in a press release signed by the Speaker of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, and made available to the media in Abuja.
Arogidigba Global Journal reported that MURIC claimed in a statement that recent changes to the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit commonly will prevent the Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices and that NNPCL had become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.
“MURIC is spreading false and unverified information, which is cautioned against in the Holy Qur’an, Chapter 25, Verse 72,” the statement added.
He stated that MURIC has “strayed from its aims and now acts in a partisan manner, using religion as a tool to serve its selfish desires.
“MURIC blaming NNPCL for the hike in PMS price is laughable. It does not require rocket science to know that petroleum product prices, including those from the Dangote refinery, are mainly determined by global market forces and other parameters.
“The oil and gas sector is guided by international standards and benchmarks, and Nigeria’s OPEC membership requires adherence to certain principles. ”
Danlami estimated that the cost of refining a liter of petroleum exceeds N800, and available information shows that the landing cost is around N1,117.
Consequently, he urged Dangote to reveal his production costs rather than shifting blame to NNPCL through organizations like MURIC.
“We challenge the Dangote refinery to transparently disclose the cost of refining a liter of fuel. This transparency will enable Nigerians to hold the right parties accountable.
“It is absurd and unacceptable to claim that NNPCL will determine the price of his product as a private entity or become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment. There are three refineries where NNPCL has exclusive power to determine PMS prices: Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries. Dangote is not one of them.
“If the Dangote refinery truly cares for Nigerians, it should sell its products at a lower price, as it and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer.
“We admonish MURIC to always verify their information and back it with categorical facts before disseminating it to the public.
“As a religious organization, it should remember the Hadith of the Holy Prophet: ‘Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.’”