Obasanjo Warns of Potential Sabotage Against Dangote Refinery by Oil Mafia

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concerns about the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the potential frustration it may suffer from the hands of oil mafia operating in the country.

The $20 billion refinery owned by Africa’s wealthiest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is reputed to be one of the largest in the world. The company has accused the government oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation of frustrating the refinery by refusing to sell crude to it or asking to sell it at a premium of up to $4 above the regular price.

They also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) of deliberately granting licenses to individuals to import dirty fuel. NMDRA claims they are trying to prevent Dangote from holding a monopoly of fuel supplies. Dangote in turn accused some of the oil sector bigwigs of having private refineries in Malta and elsewhere.

Obasanjo described the Dangote refinery, if it succeeds, as something that should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest more in Nigeria. However, he warned, “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.”

Missed Opportunity

The former president recalled a “deadly mistake” he made as president when: “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,” Obasanjo regretted.

He recalled how he tried to persuade Shell to run the country’s refineries, but the International Oil Company refused due to corruption in the sector.

Obasanjo attributed the current economic crisis in Nigeria to President Bola Tinubu’s policy recklessness in removing fuel subsidies, stating that the president could not have “just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy.”

“Because of inflation, even the subsidy we have removed is not gone. It has come back”.

He stressed the need for investor confidence in Nigeria and urged the government to move from a transactional to a transformational economy. He also warned of the dangers of rising youth anger towards the Nigerian establishment.

“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,” the ex-president warned.

Local Refiners Denied Crude

The Dangote refinery and other local refineries in Nigeria have yet to start buying crude oil in Naira – the local currency, from the NNPC, as President Tinubu directed.

The Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria said individual refiners have written to NNPC requesting crude, but there has yet to be a response. The Federal Executive Council recently adopted President Tinubu’s proposal to sell crude to the Dangote refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.

The presidential policy aimed to lower the cost of petrol and strengthen the naira against the dollar. However, NMDPA has yet to kickstart the process.

The 650,000-capacity Dangote refinery and other domestic refiners have been complaining about difficulty accessing crude oil for their plants. In contrast, they allege some oil companies prioritize selling to Asian markets instead.

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