Oil Marketers Petition Federal Commission FCCPC To Probe Alleged Anti-Competitive Pricing

A consortium of Nigerian downstream oil marketers has petitioned the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) asking the agency to investigate what it described as “anti-competitive and market-distorting pricing practices.”

The petroleum marketers in its petition alleged that Dangote Refinery, based in Lagos State, used its dominant position in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector to bring up pricing strategies that “undermine fair competition, punish bulk buyers, and threaten business sustainability.”

In a statement made available to journalists, the consortium said the FCCPC was specifically created to curb anti-competitive conduct, price manipulation and monopolistic tendencies across the Nigerian economy, including the petroleum downstream sector.

According to the marketers, the commission’s mandate empowers it to scrutinise business relationships among producers, wholesalers and retailers, and to intervene where practices threaten competition or consumer welfare.

They alleged that Dangote Refinery routinely fixes prices for petroleum products at the point of sale, only to announce sudden and significant price reductions after buyers have completed transactions — without refunding the price difference to earlier purchasers.

“For instance, a buyer may purchase a product at ₦700 per unit, only for the refinery to announce a ₦100 price drop shortly after loading has been completed,” the statement said. “Those who bought earlier are left to absorb the losses, while later buyers benefit from the reduced price.”

The consortium said the practice is particularly damaging to bulk buyers who lift millions of litres at a time, noting that price reductions often follow immediately after such large transactions.

“Once bulk buyers load their products, the refinery announces a price cut. This effectively penalises scale, discourages volume purchases and injects uncertainty into the market,” the marketers said, describing the practice as a deliberate “disincentive to business.”

They argued that such conduct amounts to abuse of market dominance, especially given the refinery’s growing control over domestic fuel supply following the removal of petrol subsidies and the decline in imports.

The marketers further warned that price fixing and price manipulation are prohibited under Nigerian law and fall squarely within the enforcement powers of the FCCPC, which can impose sanctions and initiate legal action against violators.

They urged petroleum sector regulators to work closely with the FCCPC to ensure a thorough investigation of the refinery’s pricing model and its wider impact on competition and consumers.

“The aim is to investigate abuse of pricing and prevent practices that harm competition and consumers,” the consortium said. “Unchecked abuse of market dominance will erode trust, destabilise the downstream oil industry and ultimately hurt Nigerians.”

The call for regulatory intervention comes amid growing concerns within the downstream sector over pricing transparency, market concentration and the long-term implications of a single dominant supplier in Nigeria’s fuel market.

The Dangote Refinery has yet to officially react to the allegation in the petition submitted by the marketers to the FCCPC.  (SaharaReporters)