By our correspondent
In a move that is reshaping Nigeria’s downstream oil sector, the Dangote Refinery has launched a direct fuel distribution scheme, offering free delivery of petroleum products to filling stations, telecom giants, and other bulk consumers.
This groundbreaking strategy has set the industry abuzz, as many buyers are now abandoning long-standing contracts with middlemen suppliers in favor of Dangote’s cost-cutting distribution channel.
Speaking on a live programme on TVC News, the President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Yusuf Othman, raised alarm over the development, warning that it could cripple the business of fuel transporters across the country.
According to Othman, NARTO members—who collectively own over 30,000 fuel trucks nationwide—are being edged out of the distribution chain because they cannot compete with free delivery.
> “We have our members who have signed agreements with so many companies, but now these companies are jettisoning the contracts to embrace Dangote’s free supply. We cannot do the business of fuel distribution free of charge,” Othman lamented.
The Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest, appears to be positioning itself as both a refiner and distributor, cutting out layers of middlemen in a bid to dominate the market. While bulk consumers celebrate reduced costs, NARTO insists the move threatens the survival of thousands of truck owners, drivers, and allied workers whose livelihoods depend on fuel haulage.
Industry watchers say the ripple effect could reshape the petroleum supply chain in Nigeria, potentially triggering a fierce battle between the refinery’s efficiency model and the entrenched transport unions.
With tensions rising, analysts warn that if left unresolved, the standoff may escalate into a nationwide confrontation between Dangote’s distribution arm and Nigeria’s powerful transport lobby.
PIONEER NEWS 