Business
IPMAN, Dangote reach agreement on direct lifting of petroleum products
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), on Monday, announced that it had reached an agreement with Dangote Refinery for direct lifting of petroleum products from the facility.
This is coming after weeks of protracted negotiations by the two parties.
Recall that oil marketers, including some IPMAN members, had previously insisted on importing petroleum products to compete with the ones produced by Dangote Refinery.
But with this new development, IPMAN members can now directly lift petrol from the facility.
National President of the group, Abubakar Shettima, told journalists that the agreement also covers the direct lifting of automotive gas oil (diesel) and kerosene.
Shettima, who highlighted the success of the recent discussions, called on oil marketers to support the refinery. He emphasized that doing so would help boost Nigeria’s economy.
Shettima said: “Following our recent meeting with Alhaji Aliko Dangote and members of his top management staff in Lagos, we are pleased to announce that:
“The Dangote Refinery has agreed to allow IPMAN to directly lift Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) for onward supply to IPMAN depots and retail outlets.
“This new arrangement with Dangote Refinery will ensure a steady and uninterrupted supply of PMS products across Nigeria, at affordable rates for Nigerians.
“All IPMAN members should fully support the Dangote Refinery, as this is the right course of action, given the substantial benefits of backward integration and its long-term positive impact on Nigeria’s foreign exchange markets.
“IPMAN members nationwide should rely on the Dangote Refinery and Nigerian refineries for their white products, which will create more job opportunities in Nigeria and align with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.”
Speaking on the Federal Government’s efforts to encourage the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative fuel for vehicles, Shettima urged IPMAN members to start preparing for the successful transition to CNG refill stations at their outlets.
“There is no doubt that CNG has the potential to rejuvenate our economy and improve the quality of life for Nigerians. IPMAN is fully committed to supporting this initiative.
“We also call for a partnership with the Federal Government to expedite the success of the CNG initiative in Nigeria.
“For CNG to succeed, there must be a credible partnership between IPMAN and the Petroleum CNG Initiative (PCNGI), without which Nigerians will not have easy access to CNG outlets”, Shettima said.
Multichoice has announced another increase in the prices of its DStv and GOtv packages, set to take effect from March 1, 2025.
The company revealed this in a statement to customers on Monday titled, “Price adjustment on DStv and GOtv packages” and signed by the CEO John Ugbe.
“Dear Customer, please note that effective 1 March 2025, there will be a price adjustment on all DStv packages.
“This is to enable us to continue to offer our customers world-class homegrown and international content, delivered through the best technology,” the statement read.
This latest adjustment comes nearly a year after the last price review.
According to the company, the new prices are as follows:
DStv Packages:
Compact: From N15,700 to N19,000
Compact Plus: From N24,500 to N30,000
Premium: From N29,500 to N44,500
GOtv Packages:
GOtv Value: From N3,600 to N3,900
GOtv Plus: From N4,850 to N5,800
GOtv Max: From N6,200 to N8,500
GOtv Supa: From N9,600 to N11,400
GOtv Supa Plus: From N13,500 to N16,800
Multichoice attributed the price increase to the rising cost of doing business in Nigeria.
The company cited factors such as currency depreciation and high inflation, which have significantly increased its operational expenses.
Nigerian businesses, while expressing optimism about the macroeconomic environment, have projected further depreciation of the naira this month and the first three months of 2025.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this in its Business Expectation Survey Report for November 2024.
The report, however, noted that firms’ outlook on volume of business activities, financial conditions, access to credit, volume of total order and average capacity utilization, were pessimistic.
It stated: “The overall confidence index (CI) on the macroeconomy indicated that businesses were optimistic in November 2024.
“Businesses expect the Naira to depreciate in the current month, next month and next 3 months but appreciate in the next 6 months.
“The optimism on business outlook in the current month is driven by the opinion of respondents from all the sectors.
“The Construction Sector expressed optimism on own operations in the review month.
“The outlook of respondents on the volume of business activities, the volume of total order, financial conditions, and access to credit were negative in the review month.
“Volume of business activity respondents expressed optimism on volume of business activity for the next month and subsequent periods under review.”
The report also showed that businesses hope to employ more workers in the month of December 2024 with the Agriculture sector having the highest prospect for expansion.
Meanwhile, the CBN in its latest Consumer Expectation Survey Report said that consumers were pessimistic about the macro economy in November.
According to CBN report, households projected a rise in the cost of transportation, rent, car/vehicle, house purchase, and medical expenses this month.
The report showed that 61.1 per cent and 57.6 per cent of respondents perceived that prices of non-durable and durable household items, though high, will keep declining this month and next month respectively.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday, threatened to impose fines on banks hoarding cash.
It said that the ongoing cash scarcity at Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and over the counter being witnessed across the country was embarrassing and unacceptable.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, spoke at the annual Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
There have been recent reports of cash shortages at banks, both at ATMs and over the counter.
Cardoso said: “We also recognise the ongoing challenges with cash availability at ATMs, which disproportionately affect ordinary Nigerians.
“To address this, we are conducting spot checks across deposit money banks, and we will impose penalties on underperforming institutions.
“Effective December 1, 2024, customers are encouraged to report any difficulties with withdrawing cash from bank branches or ATMs directly to the CBN through designated phone numbers and email addresses for their respective states.
“Guidelines will be distributed widely to raise public awareness. We will also urge full regulatory compliance by all stakeholders, including mobile money operators and POS agents, to promote digital transaction channels and improve service delivery.
“I repeat, financial institutions found engaging in malpractices or sabotage will face severe penalties.
“The CBN will continue to maintain a robust cash offering to meet the country’s needs, particularly during high-demand periods such as the festive season and year-end.”
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