A Failed Plot
A combination of Nigeria’s oil canals and International oil barons who made billions of dollars from Nigeria through petroleum products importation, continued to engage in attempts to sabotage the Dangote refinery from coming on stream to enable them remain in business
By Ovie Edomi
It was first rumoured that petrol barons were working underground to sabotage the take off of the 20 billion dollar Dangote refinery. If that rumour was sombre, more disturbing was the revelation by David Hundeyin, that he was contacted by an international non-governmental organisation, NGO, to write an article calling for Dangote refinery to be shutdown so that foreign interests in collaboration with Nigeria’s oil barons can continue with fuel importation from Europe and America. Again, that information caused many well meaning Nigerians goose pimples.
Shortly after this revelation, there was increase in the price of petrol so that the Dangote refinery will not sell its’ petrol at a reduced rate. An approach which oil and industry stakeholders say would make investors not to have confidence in the Nigeria’s economy in terms of investments.
Inspite of the wailing across the entire country over the price of petrol, oil mafias are still fighting Alhaji Aliko Dangote for successfully building a modern refinery in three years. The oil mafias who are purely beneficiaries of oil subsidy payments, had worked against the revival of the country’s refineries for decades so that fuel importation will continue without end.
The increment in early October by the NNPCL of petrol price was another strategy to keep the price of petrol high so that those who want to continue with fuel importation can continue to smile to the bank. Currently, petrol sells for N998 at some filling stations in Lagos while in Abuja and environs, it sells for N1030.In other states, it sells for as much as between N1,200 and N1, 400 per litre.
The investigation by this magazine reporter revealed that under former president Olusegun Obasanjo, after several attempts to turn the country’s four refineries failed, he decided to grant licence to private investors to build private refineries because the federal government was already spending so much on petroleum products importation.
However investigations revealed that fuel importation and payments of subsidy claims got to its peak under former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that was when an audit carried out by Price Water House Cooper, PWC, an international audit firm alleged in 2015, that 20 billion Dollar oil revenue was not remitted to the federation account by the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, now NNPCL. The then Auditor-General of the federation, Samuel Ukura, while breaking down the report shortly after it was submitted by PWC, country Senior Partner, Uyi Akpata, to former president Jonathan highlighted in his interim report some refunds that the then NNPC now NNPCL and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, needed to remit. In that report, subsidy payments on petrol and dual purpose kerosine, DPK, stood at 8.7 billion dollars.
Though, President Tinubu said the federal government will not pay subsidy on petroleum products anymore, those with inside knowledge noted that the oil cabals are still benefiting from the importation of petroleum products.
For instance, since the Dangote refinery came on stream, oil barons first started by trying to frustrate the Dangote refinery from accessing crude oil so that they can continue with their fuel importation business. Arising from this effort to sabotage the Dangote refinery may be why the Executive Director of Justice Research Centre, JRC, Donald Inwalomhe in a chat with a national newspaper noted that the national Assembly must rally round Dangote refinery to ensure that it works.
Certainly, the interest of the country and its people ought to come first, in resolving the fuel price in Nigeria, but the oil mafias are more concerned about their economic and group interest. This according to the Co-ordinator, Niger Delta Peace Coalition, NDPC, Zik Gbemre in a chat with a national newspaper, is another conspiracy to fool Nigerians to accept greedy stakeholders’ trumped-up industry challenges to induce continued hike in fuel prices.
Meanwhile, industry watchers continue to point fingers at NNPCL. Others say that the oil cabals who continue to import petroleum products and who own most of the oil tank farms scattered across Lagos and beyond are the ones who never believed that the Dangote refinery will see the light of day just like the two modular refineries built by the Edo state government in Ologbo and Orhionmwon that are yet to start operation despite being completed.
Speaking on the development, a former Commissioner in Bayelsa state, Surveyor Furoebi Akene noted” The Nigerian Petroleum Industry is a big scam. Some of us have raised these issues of high level insecurity, fraud, oppression, economic sabotage amongst the Nigerian oil industry players and consortium in connivance with external forces and agents over the years.
The magazine investigation revealed that when some of the oil mafias discovered to their amazement that the Dangote refinery was actually going to refine petrol, an International Non Governmental Organisation, NGO, was commissioned to write an article discrediting the Dangote refinery and calling for its shutdown. The plan did not fall through, because David Hundeyin, one of those contacted by the NGO exposed the plan of the oil mafias. But should they have succeeded, it would have compounded the situation for Dangote refinery. However, when the oil mafias could not succeed in getting the Dangote refinery to go underground, the same people now began to speculate that the Dangote refinery can not refine enough petrol that will meet local consumption but Anthony Chiejina, director of brand and communication noted that Dangote refinery had products enough to circulate all over Nigeria and enough to stop importation.
Meanwhile, the NNPCL continues to lift petrol from Dangote refinery and at the same time importating fuel from foreign countries. This explains why some industry watchers say that the NNPCL is becoming a burden on Nigerians. The questions most stakeholders ask this reporter are: why is the NNPCL unable to revive the nation’s four refineries so that fuel importation will stop, why is the NNPCL working with beneficiaries of subsidy payments to continue the shocking nexus of corruption in the corruption with respect to management of subsidy, over-invoiciving, and other illegalities.
Meanwhile, those with inside knowledge say the increase in the pump price of petrol by NNPCL to N993 per litre in Lagos and 1030 per litre in Abuja and its environs, in less than 30 days of an earlier increment, is according to inside source ” Because to sell at the purchase price of N897. 78 per litre which is the purchase price at Dangote refinery is not favourable to the oil cabals. Which was why they began initially to see how the Dangote refinery can buy crude oil in dollars so that the the cost price of petrol will keep going up as the Dollar appreciates. But then, President Bola Tinubu ordered the NNPCL to sell crude to Dangote in Naira following compliant by Alhaji Aliko Dangote. If the oil cabals had succeeded in getting the Dangote refinery to pay for the crude oil it gets from NNPCL in dollars, they would have succeeded in pushing up the price of petrol far higher than the current cost.
Though the NNPCL say the fuel it gets from Dangote refinery is at N898. 78 per litre other sources say it is sold at N765. 99 per litre to IPMAN thus absorbing a subsidy of N133 per litre, but industry watchers insist that NNPCL sells PMS to IPMAN at N995 per litre. Effort to reach NNPCL spokesperson failed.
Between September 15 and 30,2024, the NNPCL is believed to have lifted approximately 103 million litres of petrol from Dangote refinery. During this period, the Dangote refinery loaded 2,207 of the 3,621 trucks sent to it by government sources. Insider say the trucks transported a total of 102,973,025 litres out of the intended 400,000,000 litres of petrol which was to be lifted at a rate of 25 million litres per day.
Curiously, while the lifting of petrol was on-going, the oil cabals started another campaign, this time they began to say that Dangote fuel was substandard. But the Dangote group soon came up with evidence to show that its fuel was the purest and most engine friendly compared to the fuel imported by the NNPCL from foreign countries. Hence that propaganda from the oil cabals also died a natural death.
No doubt, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has proven to be a step ahead of the oil cabals that wanted to stop him. This explains why Femi Otedola, multi billionaire and businessman while commenting on the Dangote refinery noted that ” In Nigeria we have our titans and it is imperative that we recognise and support them”. Furthermore, he described Dangote thus, ” His contributions are not just a testament to his brilliance but a beacon of what is possible when vision meets opportunity.”
Similarly Peter Obi, Labour Party Presidential candidate in the last election who noted in his X platform urged the federal government to provide necessary support for the operation of the Dangote refinery and to verify it, stressing its importance to Nigeria’s economic stability. This much was also stated by former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar when he wrote in his X handle- The Dangote refinery, our nation’s largest private investment, is crucial for Nigeria’s energy and economic stability. The 650,000 bpd refinery is essential for our energy needs and economic stability and NNPCL’s investment underscores its importance. If we neglect this, we risk deterring vital foreign direct investment. No investor will trust a nation that undermines its key assets. Protecting significant investments like Dangote’s refinery is essential to attract foreign direct investments, FDI, and drive our economic growth.
This certainly may be why the Director General of Nigerian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Sola Obadimu, noted that ” the solution is to have sufficient local production of PMS in a bid to stabilise the prices.” Furthermore he said ” It is only when we have full/sufficient domestic production that can cover local consumption ( and probably export the excess to generate earnings) that we can witness stabilised prices of refined petroleum products.”
Meanwhile, it being rumored that Dangote Refinery has filed a lawsuit seeking the annulment of import licenses held by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Matrix Energy, and four other companies.
But Dangote Refinery has moved swiftly to debunk the rumors of filing a fresh lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other entities involved in the importation of refined petroleum products.
According to Anthony Chiejina, Chief Branding and Communication Officer of Dangote Group, the issue at hand is an old one that began in June and culminated in a matter filed on September 6, 2024.
The rumor mill had been churning out claims that Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals had asked the Federal High Court Abuja to void import licenses issued to the NNPC, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and four other companies for importing refined petroleum products already being produced locally.
However, Chiejina clarified that the parties involved are currently in discussion following President Bola Tinubu’s directive on Crude Oil and Refined products sales in Naira Initiative, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“We have made tremendous progress in that regard, and events have overtaken this development,” he stated.
In a reassuring tone, Chiejina emphasized that no party has been served with court processes, and there is no intention of doing so.
For now, if only the oil cabals would allow more private refineries to spring up for fuel importation to end in Nigeria.Time will tell