Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has predicted that merchants and businessmen involved in fuel importation would do everything to sabotage the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Also, Obasanjo criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approach to removing fuel subsidies without first addressing the potential hardships on the population.
“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,” he noted.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, recently claimed that cartels were working with some interests in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to undermine his $20 billion refinery project.
He said the refinery had been unable to purchase crude oil, following which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu mediated with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
In an interview with the Financial Times, Obasanjo lauded the Dangote refinery as a significant investment that should inspire confidence among both Nigerian and international investors.
However, he cautioned that those profiting from the current importation system would likely resist the refinery’s success.
“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.
Obasanjo said reports indicate that international oil companies were frustrating the refinery by either refusing to sell crude or by selling it at a premium, sometimes as high as $4 above the standard price.
Also, the Dangote Group has accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) are of NNPC of granting licences for the importation of substandard fuel.
The regulator, however, refuted these claims, asserting that Dangote diesel was inferior to imported alternatives and the new concern could turn into a monopoly.
Obasanjo further criticised Nigeria’s historical reliance on oil, arguing that the country made a grave error by neglecting other sectors such as gas and agriculture.
“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 centerpiece of our economic development,” he lamented.
Recalling his presidency, Obasanjo shared how he had unsuccessfully urged Shell to manage Nigeria’s refineries.
He said: “When I was President, I invited Shell and I said, look, come and take equity participation and run our refineries for us. They refused. They said our refineries have not been well maintained. We have brought amateurs rather than professionals.
“They said there’s too much corruption with the way our refinery is run and maintained. And they didn’t want to get involved in such a mess.”
He also voiced concerns about youth unemployment and restiveness, warning that Nigeria is “sitting on a keg of gunpowder.”
“Our youth are restive. And they are restive because they have no skill. They have no empowerment. They have no employment. We are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder. And my prayer is that we will do the right thing before it’s too late,” Obasanjo cautioned
