Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Tuesday announced a further reduction in the prices of both diesel and aviation fuel to N940, and N980 per litre respectively.

This is coming in the wake of its widely celebrated price reduction to N1,000 barely two weeks ago.

The price change of N940 applies to customers buying five million litres and above from the refinery, while the price of N970 is for customers buying one million litres and above.

Speaking on the new development, the Head of Communication, Mr Anthony Chiejina, explained that the new price aligns with the company’s commitment to cushion the effect of economic hardship in Nigeria.

“I can confirm to you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has entered a strategic partnership with MRS Oil and Gas stations, to ensure that consumers get to buy fuel at affordable prices, in all their stations be it Lagos or Maiduguri. You can buy as low as 1 litre of diesel at N1,050 and aviation fuel at N980 at all major airports where MRS operates.”

He further stated that the partnership would be extended to other major oil marketers. “The essence of this is to ensure that retail buyers do not buy at exorbitant prices.

“The Dangote Group is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have better welfare and as such, we are happy to announce these new prices and hope that it would go a long way to cushion the effect of economic challenges in the country.

It would be recalled that the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a further reduction of the price of diesel from 1200 to 1,000 Naira per litre barely two weeks ago.

This marks the third major reduction in diesel price in less than three weeks when the product was sold at N1,700 to N1,200 and also a further reduction to N1,000 and now N940 for diesel and N980 for aviation fuel per litre.

President Bola Tinubu had also commended Dangote for the initial price reduction, describing it as an “enterprising feat.”

Reacting to the latest development, the Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr Ajayi Kadiri, said, “The decision of Dangote Refinery to first crash the price from about N1,750/litre to N1,200/litre, N1,000/litre and now N940 is an eloquent demonstration of the capacity of local industries to positively impact the fortunes of the national economy.”

He added “The trickledown effect of this singular intervention promises to change the dynamics in the energy cost equation of the country, amid inadequate and rising cost of electricity.

“The reduction will have far-reaching effects in critical sectors like industrial operations, transportation, logistics, and agriculture, contributing to easing the high inflation rate in the country; a lot of companies will be back in operation.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria has resumed the sale of foreign exchange to Bureau De Change operators. In this latest move, the apex bank is selling to them at an exchange rate of N1,021 per dollar.

Additionally, the CBN has directed BDCs to limit their sales to an amount not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.

This information was disclosed in a circular uploaded to the CBN’s website on Tuesday.

Details later…

The management of Dana Air has confirmed reports that one of its aircraft with registration number 5N BKI skidded off the runway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday morning.

The airline made the confirmation in a statement on Tuesday.

Expressing regret, the airline noted that the aircraft which flew from Abuja to Lagos, skidded off the runway in an attempt to land.

However, it expressed relief that no casualty was recorded, stating that it had informed the Accident Investigation Bureau and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority of the incident.

The statement read, “Dana Air regrets to inform the public of a runway incursion involving one of our aircraft, registration number 5N BKI, which was flying from Abuja to Lagos today 23/04/24

“We are relieved to confirm that all 83 passengers and crew onboard the flight disembarked safely without injuries or scare as the crew handled the situation with utmost professionalism.”

“We have also updated the AIB and NCAA on the incident and the aircraft involved has been grounded by our maintenance team for further investigation.”

The management thanked the airport authorities and its crew for ensuring the safety of all passengers onboard the aircraft.

The statement added, “We wish to thank the airport authorities, and our crew for their very swift response in ensuring the safe disembarkation of all passengers following the incident and our sincere apologies and appreciation to the passengers on the affected flight for their patience and understanding.

“We wish to reassure our passengers that their safety will always be our top priority, and we are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Recall that in January 2018, a commercial aircraft belonging to Dana Air used its left wing to hit a fence at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The PUNCH reported that the Dana flight, with registration number 5N-DEV from Port Harcourt, brushed the fence while trying to park after it landed at the NAIA. https://punchng.com/dana-air-plane-hits-fence-at-abuja-airport/

Sources at the airport and passengers onboard the flight told our correspondent that no injury was recorded, but blamed the aircraft’s pilot for the incident.