Following the recent reduction in petrol prices by Dangote Refinery, motorists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called on the company to increase the number of its partner retail outlets to ensure greater availability of the product in the capital.

Dangote Refinery recently partnered with MRS Oil, designating the company’s stations to sell petrol nationwide at N739 per litre. In comparison, NNPC Retail outlets sell petrol at N835 per litre, TotalEnergies at N920, Conoil at N910, Eterna at N889, and AYM Sharfa at N840. As a result, MRS stations have become a primary source of cheaper petrol for consumers.

However, a survey of stations around Abuja’s city centre and surrounding areas revealed that there are still very few MRS retail outlets in the FCT. For example, the MRS station along the AYA-Gaduma-Asokoro Road did not display its pump price, and queues have continued since Dangote’s price reduction. It was also noted that the station does not sell petrol beyond 7:00 p.m. daily.

On the Nyanya-Karshi Road, there are three MRS stations, but only one of them is dispensing petrol at N739 per litre, while the other two were still selling at N910 per litre as of Tuesday.

At the MRS station along Airport Road, where pumps have been adjusted to N739 per litre, a civil servant, George Anosike, expressed concern about the limited number of MRS stations in the city.

“MRS stations are very few in Abuja. With other stations selling petrol for over N800 per litre, Dangote can help the masses by increasing the number of its retail outlets selling petrol at this lower price,” he said. “Here, the queue is small, but if more stations offered this price, more people would benefit from the Dangote initiative.”

Another motorist, Joachim Jimbiri, also emphasized the importance of expanding the number of partner stations to ensure greater access to Dangote petrol.

“This is when we’re beginning to see the real benefits of the Dangote Refinery. Two months ago, when petrol prices surged to N970 per litre, it was hard to accept because that was not what Aliko Dangote had promised. Nigerians want the refinery to succeed, but we must also benefit from the reduced petrol prices,” he said. “With our abundant crude oil and now a functional refinery, petrol should not cost more than N500 per litre.”