By Samson Apashe
The truth is gradually emerging and the well oiled, coordinated smear campaign to disparage the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), led by Melee Kyari, by the Dangote Group came flat on Wednesday at the National Assembly during the investigation session of the Senate on the lingering false allegations of economic sabotage and the alleged gang-up of ‘cabals’ to frustrate Nigeria’s richest man Aliko Dangote’s 600,000 barrels per day refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State. In his usual manner, he maligned and blackmailed the authorities, while instigating the people against the regulators of the oil sector.
Many discerning Nigerians saw through the smokescreen of deceit and monopolistic tendencies of Dangote, based on his antecedence in other critical sectors of the economy where he muzzled others out of the economic space and thereafter ruled like an emperor, inflicting unbearable pains on the people by hiking the prices of commodities which control the largest shares. So, the emotions of Nigerians and the public opinions on the matter began to change when the warped and concocted lies of Dangote were beginning to quake as many informed Nigerians and industries experts began to unveil the facts of the matter in the public domain.
The ultimate moment of truth came to the fore at the hallowed chamber of the Senate when the management team of Dangote Refineries admitted before the lawmakers and Nigerians that indeed the nation’s oil corporation provided a sizable quantity of crude oil for the refinery. The Group Chief Strategy Officer, Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company, Aliyu Suleiman, stated that 60 percent of the crude supplied to the refinery was done by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. This was contrary to the previous claim of the Group Chief Commercial Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Rabiu A. Umar, who had claimed that the NNPC has been supplying insufficient crude oil for its production demand.
Umar claimed that NNPC supplies only 33 percent of crude to the refinery, disclosing that it had to look elsewhere to source the remaining 67 per cent to meet its production capacity. He added that the refinery, which has the capacity of refining 650,000 per day, could not depend on short supply from Nigeria’s oil company.
Meanwhile, Aliyu Suleiman, in his presentation, stated that out of the five million barrels of crude oil they got in recent time, “NNPC gave them 60 per cent, 20 percent was imported, and 20 per cent was purchased”. He appreciated the NNPCL, under the leadership of Melee Kyari, for being supportive by extending the required assistance for the largest private refinery.
Sulaiman’s statement aligned with the position of the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote before he unleashed propaganda on the NNPCL, and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, for his selfish economic gains. He had reportedly commended President Bola Tinubu in January, 2024 for his unwavering support and the favourable policy regime that largely favoured his business interests.
His words, “ We thank President Bola Tinubu for his support and for making our dream come true. This production, as witnessed today, would not have been possible without his visionary leadership and prompt attention to detail. His intervention at various stages cleared all impediments thereby accelerating the actualisation of the project. We also thank the NNPCL, NUPRC, NMDPRA, for their support. These organisations have been our dependable partners in this historic journey”.
NNPCL boss, who has conducted himself professionally all through the saga, declared that contrary to sponsored damaging allegations against him and the oil corporation, he is without blemish. “We are not criminals, we are not thieves. We will protect our dignity so we can serve this country,” he said.
Kyari said, “It is our duty to protect the overall interest of this country by the provisions of the law, Mr. Chairman. The Petroleum Industry Act, the Company and Allied Matters Act, and other enabling regulations and laws that govern the activity of the oil and gas industry, Mr. Chairman, we are not in breach of any one of them.
“Mr. Chairman, the NNPCL is a company owned by over 200 million Nigerians. And I happen to be the Chief Executive Officer of this company. And the law is clear around what the chief executive of this company will do.
“Our memorandum article of association, the Petroleum Industry Act, and all other enabling, including CAMA, which was legislated by this Honourable National Assembly, We are clear that the board and management of NNPCL must maximise value for this company, Mr. Chairman. This company cannot have negative profits for three years.
“CAMA says you can shut it down. Mr. Chairman, it is our job to protect this company. But it is also our job to protect other businesses around us. This company has grown, Mr. Chairman. We are proud to say this. From a lost company for 43 years to a profit-making company today, Mr. Chairman. Everybody believes, by sheer misinformation which my Minister has highlighted, that NNPCL is responsible for creating any economic sabotage in our country.
“Mr. Chairman, refining business is straight business. You must secure your feedstock and you must secure a market. This is basic even for NMPC refiners, we have done nothing to sabotage any domestic refinery. Anyone of them. There are many of them.
“And we understand it very, very badly. Just by the provisions of the law, and also, and I can share this with you, for me and my colleagues in the NMPC, even by conviction of faith, Mr. Chairman, we’ll do nothing. We believe there is eternal accountability, Mr. Chairman.
“Even if you don’t unravel what is happening, we know that God knows. And that God will hold us accountable. And we’re after no one. We are not persecuting nobody. We are not criminals. We are not thieves.
“We are serving our country, and we believe very, very strongly that we are faithful, loyal to this country. And that we, this Senate, and I believe this very, very strongly, that we protect our dignity, so that we can serve this country. Tomorrow will come. That tomorrow may not be in this world, but to be in the hereafter. And we believe that there is eternal accountability. And we mean, and we understand very clearly, that this President means well.”
“Secondly, and more importantly, NNPCL has nothing to do with imports of products that are substandard. It is very clear, Mr. Chairman, there are rules, there are regulators. We follow the rules. We follow the rules. Nobody will bring products into this country that don’t meet the specifications. If it does happen, it’s a crime. And it couldn’t have passed through any regulatory institution. It is impossible.”
The succinct submission of the NNPCL boss, has provided sufficient background and illumination to dark areas on the protracted matter of Dangote Refineries. In buttressing the position of the NNPCL and that of industry experts who waded in on the matter, public intellectuals, including a renowned journalist and author, Richard Akinnola, in his viral opinion piece titled, “ Dangote Refining: Sifting facts from emotions,” backtracked from his earlier emotive position on the matter, after dived deeper in studies on the refinery works and its intricacies. Akinnola’s findings were mindblowing, exposing the deceit and false allegations of Dangote Refinery.
•Apashe writes from Lagos