Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals announced yesterday that it is reaching an out-of-court settlement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and six other parties concerning import licenses issued by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for the importation of petrol into the country.
It is worth noting that the company had previously filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the nullification of the licenses and demanding N100 billion in damages from the first defendant, the NNPCL.
However, in a statement released last night, Dangote announced its readiness to resolve the matter amicably with NNPCL and the other defendants, referring to it as an old case initially filed in June.
The statement, signed by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejine, read: ‘’This is an old issue that started in June and culminated in a matter filed on Sept 6, 2024.
‘’Currently, the parties are in discussion since President Bola Tinubu’s directive on crude oil and refined product sales in naira initiative, which the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved.
‘’We have made tremendous progress in that regard and events have overtaken this development. No party has been served with court processes and there is no intention of doing so. We have agreed to put a halt to the proceedings.
‘’It is important to stress that no orders have been made and there are no adverse effects on any party. We understand that once the matter comes up in January 2025, we will be in a position to formally withdraw the matter in court.’’
Dangote had in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, queried the propriety of the licence issued to the defendants to bring refined petroleum products into the country when there is no shortfall in its production.
Other defendants in the suit are the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited as well as Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
