The Arewa Youth Assembly has cautioned the Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC) for accusing the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of being behind the increment in petroleum prices and allegedly acting against the Dangote refinery.
This was stated in a statement signed by the Speaker of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, and made available to the media in Abuja.
MURIC claimed in a statement that recent changes to the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly called petrol, will prevent the Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices and that NNPCL had become the sole off-taker of all products from the refinery.
Mr. Danlami expressed shock at MURIC, noting that as an organization portraying itself as religious, it should abide by the teachings of that religion.
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. Mr. Danlami estimated that the cost of refining a litre 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 litre 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.”, the statement noted.
