President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, reacted to the allegations by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA),

Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of NMDPRA had alleged that Dangote refinery as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650 to 1200 ppm.

Reacting to this on Saturday, the richest man in Africa while showing members of the House of Reps the company’s facilities insisted that its diesel is 80percent superior to those currently imported into Nigeria.

“Until late last year, diesel imports into Nigeria were up to 7,000 parts per million (ppm) of Sulphur which has been going on for many years. Our diesel is produced currently at significantly lower levels of Sulphur; as such, we find baseless the allegation that the reason for the reduction is linked to quality.

“What we are producing is 80 percent of what is being imported into the country,” Anthony Chiejine, the company’s spokesperson Dangote Industries Limited said.

“Another inaccurate assertion is that Medium Level Sulphur diesel is meant for off-road use. This is a completely false statement as this would have invariably meant that all the imports for the last 20 years have been damaging equipment.

“Thirdly, diesel imports for the high Sulphur grade have been at significantly higher prices until we started operation. If indeed high Sulphur diesel is sold at lower prices how come we never saw the lower prices until now?” the spokesperson said.

Dangote proved through a laboratory test before members of the House of Reps, led by Tajudeen Abbas how the sulphur content of its diesel is within acceptable range in Africa and better than some of diesel currently available in the country.

His words: “I urge you to even set up a committee that will take samples at filling stations and take our own sample because I must tell you that all the test certificates people are flaunting around are fake certificates.

“Where are the laboratories where those tests were conducted? By doing this, you will be able to tell Nigerians the very truth that they deserve to know. De-marketing of a company by a regulator that it is supposed to protect it, is very unfortunate.

“We didn’t know that you were going to ask us to stop by the road and take samples from other filling stations. I didn’t know what you wanted to do until we got here and you requested for a test.

“It is even good that it is your members that went directly to get our samples and I am sure you were shocked by the result. With the result, you can see that we produce the best diesel in Nigeria.”

Dangote openly challenged the regulator, NMDPRA, to compare the quality of refined products from his refinery with those imported, while advocating an impartial assessment to determine what best served the interests of Nigerians.

“We produce the best diesel in Nigeria. It is disheartening that instead of safeguarding the market, the regulator is undermining it. Our doors are open for the regulator to conduct tests on our products anytime, transparency is paramount to us.

“It would be beneficial for the regulator to showcase its laboratory to the world so Nigerians can compare. Our interest is Nigeria first because if Nigeria doesn’t grow, we have limited capacity for growth.

“Speaker and esteemed members, you have witnessed the results of the credibility test. I appreciate your wise counsel in procuring samples from filling stations alongside our refinery’s product.

“Ours shows a sulphur content of 87.6 ppm, approximately 88, whereas the others exceeded 1,800 ppm. Although the NMDPRA permits local refiners to produce diesel with sulphur content up to 650 ppm until January 2025, as approved by ECOWAS, ours is significantly lower.

“Next week, we aim to achieve 10 ppm, aligning with the Euro V standard. Imported diesel is capped at 50 ppm, but as you have seen, those from the stations, imported by major marketers, fall well outside this standard,” Dangote observed.

He pointed out that high-sulphur content diesel regularly imported into the country often came with dubious certifications.

He emphasised that the most effective method to verify the quality was to purchase the product directly from filling stations and conduct credibility tests.

Dangote, who noted that the issue has resulted in both health risk and financial losses for Nigerians, said: “Dubious certifications often accompany the importation of high-sulphur diesel into Nigeria, causing both health risks and financial losses for Nigerians.

“The best method to verify this is to purchase the product directly from filling stations where end-users obtain it. I believe Farouk Ahmed (Chief Executive of NMDPRA) speaks without sufficient knowledge of our refinery.

“We have successfully exported diesel and jet fuel to Europe and Asia without any complaints; in fact, we have received repeated orders, indicating satisfaction with our products.”

Dangote diesel currently contains 87.6 ppm

For instance, Dangote’s laboratory officials tested diesel products from two major retail outlets in Nigeria – TotalEnergies and Matrix – against the sample produced by Dangote Refinery.

The test was carried out using a ED-XRF Spectro Photometer, using the ASTM D4294 method.

The sample from TotalEnergies’s diesel showed 1,829ppm sulphur concentration. The sample from Matrix retail showed 2,2752.8682ppm sulphur concentration while the diesel sample from Dangote Refinery showed 87.6ppm sulphur concentration.

Targets 10ppm sulphur content August

“By the end of next week, we should be on 50ppm and by August, it should be down to 10ppm,” Dangote said.

Findings showed the minimum global standard is 50ppm, while 200ppm is still acceptable in Africa till the end of the year.