Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concerns that those profiting from Nigeria’s fuel importation sector may seek to undermine the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
This follows allegations by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, who accused certain ‘mafias’ of attempting to sabotage his $20 billion refinery project.
The refinery, despite President Bola Tinubu’s instructions, has yet to start purchasing crude oil in naira from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
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In a Financial Times interview, Obasanjo highlighted the potential for the refinery’s success to attract significant investment from both domestic and foreign sources.“Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria. If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated,” Obasanjo stated.
Dangote Group officials have raised concerns that international oil companies are either refusing to sell crude or charging up to $4 above the standard price. They also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of issuing licenses for importing contaminated fuel. However, NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed refuted these claims, defending the quality of imported diesel and emphasizing the need to avoid a monopoly by the Dangote Group.
Obasanjo criticized Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil, neglecting gas and agriculture. He reflected on his tenure, recounting attempts to involve Shell in operating Nigeria’s refineries, which the company declined due to corruption.
“I believe we made a very, very deadly mistake. We put all our eggs in one basket of oil. We even ignored gas. We were flaring gas, which is a very important commodity. We ignored agriculture, which should have been the centrepiece of our economic development,” he said.
The former president also critiqued the government’s failure to fix the refineries and President Tinubu’s approach to removing fuel subsidies without addressing the resultant hardships.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy. Because of inflation, the subsidy that we have removed is not gone. It has come back,” Obasanjo concluded.
