Marketers Laud Dangote On Free Product Delivery, Seek Extension To Northern States

Independent products marketers have lauded Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s expansion of its free petroleum product delivery to Imo, Anambra and other states, saying the move will reduce the financial and operational hardships faced by independent marketers.

This is as they urged the refinery to extend the scheme to northern states for uniform pricing nationwide.

National publicity secretary and public relations officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, while speaking on the impact of the initiative, said the it makes petroleum products more affordable for final consumers and helps marketers avoid the long waits and heavy cash outlays that have hampered their businesses.

Ukadike described a common industry problem in which marketers pay for products in advance but wait days or weeks before their orders are loaded. He said that financial “hold-up” ties up working capital and forces marketers to shoulder unnecessary hardship while trying to bring products to market.

“This gesture, if sustained, will be able to alleviate the sufferings of independent marketers,” Ukadike said. “There has been the issue of financial hold-up, whereby marketers pay for products and are not loaded for days and weeks, and they suffer unnecessary hardship bringing the product down.”

He said Dangote Refinery’s distribution approach has shortened delivery times and reduced the period that marketers’ funds are tied down, improving cash flow and accelerating return on investment.

“This time around, Dangote has made it very, very easy for marketers. Marketers are jubilating, and you will see the return on investment as an independent marketer. Your money will not be tied down,” Ukadike said.

Ukadike also highlighted safety and logistics benefits, noting that delivering products closer to retailers reduces haulage risks and the strain associated with long-distance movement of petroleum products. He said the change is already showing in retail pump prices.

“You also have less risk, and you have petroleum products at your doorstep. Other consumers will also see that our pump price will not continue to go up. The more Dangote brings down its pump price, the more independent marketers will bring down theirs,” he said.

While commending Dangote’s management for the current rollout, Ukadike urged the refinery to extend the scheme to more states — particularly in the north — to promote uniform pricing nationwide and ease the broader hardship Nigerians face.

“We want to commend the management of Dangote Refinery for making this possible, and we are also appealing to them to extend it further to other states, especially those in the northern areas, so that petroleum products will be bought uniformly. This will reduce the hardship Nigeria is facing,” he said.

Ukadike framed the development as an example of the positive effects of deregulation and competition in the downstream petroleum sector: “This is the beauty of deregulation and competition.”

The commendation follows Dangote Refinery’s ongoing free petrol distribution initiative, which the company has been rolling out across several states to cushion the impact of fuel price fluctuations on Nigerians.

The scheme, which began with select states, has since been extended to Imo and Anambra, and IPMAN members say wider coverage — including northern states — would further stabilise pump prices and lessen operational difficulties for independent marketers.