By Afolabi Samuel Odunayo
In the midst of an ongoing rift between NNPCL and Dangote Refinery, the Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has warned that the northern elders’ support for Aliko Dangote, business mogul Africa’s richest man and owner of Dangote Reginery, remains unwavering .
A former vice-chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Abdullahi stated this stance in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday.
According to him, the NEF will not fold its hands and watch ongoing efforts to frustrate and demarket Dangote Refinery, stating that such actions would be detrimental to the country’s economy if allowed to fester.
This development follows the Federal Government’s intervention in the ongoing dispute between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority and the management of Dangote Refinery.
The New Diplomat reports NEF’s response to the ongoing situation in the light of the highlighted difficulties faced by the refinery, one of Africa’s largest oil plants, in securing local crude oil is among several interventions so far since the disagreements between Dangote and the NNPCL started.
The NEF statement reads in part:”The Northern Elders Forum is watching with sustained interest the unfolding drama orchestrated by some powerful vested interests to frustrate the good example set by Alhaji Aliko Dangote. He has defied formidable odds to build a privately-owned ultramodern petroleum refinery in Nigeria. This remarkable business feat, which should earn him national accolades, has paradoxically ignited the malicious fury of enemies strategically located in the oil and gas sector. They have crippled our nation’s refining capacity and imposed a ruinous regime of massive refined oil imports, to the detriment of our national growth.”
The NEF further expressed disappointment in the way the designated Nigerian authorities have handled existing opportunities to develop and grow the nation’s economy .
“Regrettably, it is only in Nigeria that politics is driven by narrow interests, often allowed to trample the nation’s economic interests. The NEF welcomes the timely action taken by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, to address this worrisome situation. We stand resolutely with Dangote in defense of this significant business stride, which signifies the dawn of prosperity for our people,” the statement concluded.
Continuing, Abdullahi expressed worry that some vested interests have rendered Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries comatose for 30 years, preventing them from meeting domestic petroleum needs.
He criticized the lack of appreciation for Aliko Dangote’s efforts to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
“Nigeria has become the object of global ridicule as the only member nation of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries without refining capacity, heavily dependent on imported oil and derivatives,” he said.
The NEF chairman added: “The commentary against Dangote Refinery from the NNPCL and its regulatory bodies smacks of a glaring attempt to de-market this national achievement and derail the economy from the path of healthy growth and stability.”
He warned that the masses, who suffer from escalating fuel prices, frequent shortages, and joblessness, will no longer tolerate the actions of a few powerful individuals holding the economy hostage.
