Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity and Justice, has accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), of working with cabals in the downstream sector to undermine the Dangote refinery, noting that “Despite the change in leadership at the NMDPRA earlier this year, it is glaring to every well-meaning Nigerian that the Authority remains firmly in the pocket of a ruthless cabal of fuel importers.”
In a statement on Sunday, in Abuja, by the coalition’s National coordinator, James Okoronkwo, the group wondered why NMDPRA, under the current leadership, still permit the importation of dirty fuel from Malta and Russia, while simultaneously creating artificial bottlenecks to delay the full market dominance of locally refined, superior-quality products.
The group further noted that “For decades, Nigerians have suffered from the importation of substandard, high-sulfur, and highly toxic petroleum products that destroy vehicle engines, emit deadly carcinogens into our environment, and cripple our economy.”
The coalition, which called for the support of indigenous refinery in the country , dismissed concerns in some quarters that the Dangote Refinery could become a monopoly in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
“The Hypocrisy of the “Monopoly” Narrative
The ongoing, covert attempts by vested interests to frame the Dangote Refinery as a looming “monopoly” is a cheap, intellectually lazy, and manipulative blackmail tactic. Dangote Refinery did not stop anyone from building a refinery. While the Federal Government sank billions of dollars into fixing state-owned refineries with zero results, an individual took the risk to build the largest single-train refinery in the world. Calling the reward of such unprecedented private investment a “monopoly” is a calculated attempt to justify the continued reign of the actual monopoly”
The group described the alleged regulatory obstacles facing the Dangote Refinery as an act of “economic treason,” warning that the treatment of a major indigenous investor sends negative signals to both local and international investors.
“The continuous regulatory bullying of a flagship indigenous investor is an act of economic treason. What message is the Federal Government sending to the international community? If a Nigerian who invested $20 billion into the local economy is subjected to such endless sabotage, why would any foreign investor bring their capital to Nigeria? The NMDPRA’s actions are single-handedly scaring away Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and sabotaging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic recovery agenda.” The group stated.
