It is high time President Bola Tinubu rose to stop the ongoing demarketing and vilification of the Dangote Refinery by agencies of government to avert further damage to the nation's already battered image before the global community, writes Peter Uzoho
Nigeria's battered image in the eyes of the global investment community is currently being worsened by the current attack and demarketing of the $20 billion Dangote Refinery by the nation's regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over unsubstantiated claims.
In what looked like a confirmation of an earlier claim of sabotage by Dangote Industries Limited, Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed had last week described products from Dangote Refinery as inferior to imported ones, asserting further that Dangote wanted to become a monopoly in the downstream sector.
He had stated that the Dangote refinery had not even been granted a full licence to operate, explaining that the facility cannot be solely relied upon to satisfy the fuel needs of the country
He further alleged that he had been under pressure by the Dangote refinery to stop all imports of diesel and jet fuel, although the imported fuels had lower sulphur content than the ones from the Dangote refinery.
But the President of Dangote Group and Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote has dismissed all the claims by the NMDPRA boss, saying his products were actually of far higher quality than imported fuels.
When conducting federal lawmakers around the facility last weekend, Dangote strongly rejected the claims by the industry regulator that the products from his new refinery were substandard, expressing doubts over the quality of laboratories used in testing the standard of fuels in the country by NMDPRA.
To convince his visitors that his position was factual, Dangote and his team tested samples of diesel bought from two separate filling stations and another one from his refinery in his laboratories.
He admitted that when the refinery started, it was turning out about 600ppm to 650ppm, which was still the best quality at the time. He stressed that the refinery now had less than 87ppm products and was set to hit 10ppm next month, compared to over 1,800ppm and 2,600ppm, respectively, from the other tested samples.
Nigerians Rise against Regulator
However, the attempt by the NMDPRA to de-market and pull down Dangote Refinery has generated reactions from Nigerians within and outside the country who have expressed shock and dismay that the largest indigenous in-country investor, biggest taxpayer, and employer of labour will be so vilified by agencies of its own country.
Prominent Nigerians are wondering why an investment in the size of the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery built by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, on the country's soil should be targeted for a downfall by an agent of the state.
Their worry also stems from the fact that this is happening at a time when many foreign companies are leaving the country in droves over the perceived inclement investment environment, partly caused by the unbearable actions of agencies like the NMDPRA.
Despite being a major oil producer for over 60 years, Nigeria has continued to rely on imported petroleum products to satisfy its local demand. The four government refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri being run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) have all packed up for about 10 years and continue to gulp billions of naira on maintenance and operation without producing a drop of product.
NMDPRA, according to the disenchanted Nigerians, prefers supporting petroleum products marketing companies who are still milking the nation dry through the collection of questionable subsidy claims to the Dangote Refinery that has come to wean the country off dependence on imported products and the associated foreign exchange burden and corruption on the country.
The same oil marketing companies who have not deemed it fit to invest in building a refinery in the country even if a small-sized one since their years of importation are hell-bent on frustrating the multi-billion domestic refinery and doing everything possible to see it collapse in connivance with the downstream regulator.
AfDB Boss Condemns Dangote's Vilification
Joining other Nigerians to condemn the vilification and de-marketing of Dangote Refinery by the NMDPRA and its cohorts, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, in a statement said the situation was not good for the country's image.
"This whole disparaging of Dangote is uncalled for. It is self-defeating. And it is very bad for Nigeria. Who will want to come and invest in a country that disparages and undermines its own largest investor?", Adesina wondered.
He added, "Investing is tough. Pettiness is easy. It sadly sends a signal that the price for sacrificing for Nigeria is to get sacrificed."
He argued that "monopoly often exists where there are high barriers to entry or high capital costs.
"How many individuals or companies can do railways? How many can do refineries of the scale of Dangote Refineries."
According to Adesina, "in a nation that has been importing refined petroleum products for several decades, the abnormal simply became very normal."
Otedola Backs Dangote
Also weighing in on the matter, Nigerian billionaire, Chairman of Geregu Power Plc and First Bank, Mr. Femi Otedola, has called for support for Dangote.
In a series of X posts (formerly Twitter) last Tuesday, Otedola joined numerous stakeholders in urging the federal government to support industrialists like Dangote, similar to how other governments back their "local champions."
He said Dangote has built "the largest single train refinery in the world, the second-largest sugar refinery in the world," emphasizing that he is the highest taxpayer in Nigeria.
Otedola said business 'titans' like Dangote are necessary in the early stage of a country's industrialization growth and must be encouraged and protected.
According to him, such trends can be found in the United States with the likes of "Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford," adding that these are men who built the country's industrial landscape.
Atiku Warns of Scaring Investors
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, described as "troubling" the ongoing fight between the management of Dangote refinery and the industry regulator.
Writing on his verified X account, Atiku said the Dangote refinery was crucial for Nigeria's energy and economic stability. He stated that Nigeria risked scaring foreign investors away with the current altercations.
While calling for protection for the multi-billion-dollar investment, Atiku maintained that by doing so, the country would attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as boost economic growth.
He stated, "The conflict between Aliko Dangote and the NMDPRA is troubling. 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 NNPC'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, is essential to attract FDI and drive our economic growth."
Obi: Dangote Refinery Should Not be Vilified
In his intervention on the Dangote/NMDPRA imbroglio, former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 presidential poll, Mr Peter Obi, stated that the Dangote refinery should be fully supported, not vilified.
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Obi said the recent conflict between Dangote industries and some government agencies was deeply troubling, stressing that the issue transcends political affiliations and personal grievances.
A statement by Obi on his X handle said, "It is fundamentally about Nigeria's economy, future, and the wellbeing of its citizens. Given Alhaji Dangote's significant contributions to Nigeria, these disputes must be resolved swiftly.
HURIWA Seeks Ahmed's Sack
Consequently, some concerned Nigerians have called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Ahmed before he causes more image problems for the country and the current Renewed Hope administration in the eyes of the global investment community.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) said his sack was necessary because the agency he oversees had lost the ethical and neutral authority to exercise its mandate in the face of the clear manifestation of preference for importation of petroleum products.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA stressed that the antagonistic attitude of the chief executive towards the Dangote Refinery had rendered his continuous stay in office ethically disturbing, going by the public display of his preference for the continuous importation of fuel.
The group stated, "NMDPRA's position then means that Nigeria's population will continue to suffer adversely due to the unrelenting hike in the pump price of petrol and other crude oil products, such as diesel and aviation fuel, which has aggravated the costs of living affecting millions of Nigerian households."
HURIWA stressed that the only way the president could demonstrate he was not in support of the deep-rooted corruption that had prevented the publicly owned refineries from coming back on stream was to immediately relieve Ahmed of his position.
