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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has cautioned oil unions and marketers against sustained attacks on the Dangote Refinery, stressing that the nation now operates a deregulated oil sector where every operator is free to compete on equal terms.
His intervention comes amid the lingering tussle between the refinery on one hand, and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) as well as the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) on the other.
NUPENG had recently embarked on industrial action which led to the shutdown of depots, accusing the refinery of refusing to allow its truck drivers to join the union in line with the Trade Union Act. DAPPMAN, the umbrella body of fuel importers, separately accused the refinery of attempting to suppress competition by allegedly offering its products to international traders at cheaper rates than those given to local marketers.
Although the Department of State Services (DSS) has since stepped in to resolve the refinery’s dispute with junior oil workers, Ndume, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, expressed worry over what he called “a poisonous media narrative to paint Dangote in bad light in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community.”
The lawmaker recalled that successive administrations had deliberately encouraged private participation in the refining sector but lamented that those who secured licences at the time only took advantage of government incentives without building refineries.
“Before Dangote took the risk to build his refinery, previous administrations had granted licences to many Nigerians. What did they do with it? Some of them only cashed in on the incentives of crude oil allocation.
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“If my memory serves me right, licences were granted to 12 private operators as far back as 2002 to build refineries and reduce dependence on imported fuel. The second round of licences was done in 2007 by the then Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) after revoking the first batch and granted nine new licences to private investors.
“Those parading themselves as fuel importers today didn’t seize the initiative to come together to build refineries. Again, during the Muhammadu Buhari administration, licences were granted to private investors to build modular refineries. How many of them actually scratched the surface? But they are ganging up to falsely accuse Dangote of monopolising the market,” he said.
Ndume, who represents Borno South, condemned what he described as growing hostility against the refinery, insisting that the Federal Government, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), has created an enabling climate for deregulation and competition.
“It is wrong to talk about monopoly in a deregulated industry. There are no deliberate bottlenecks against anyone and no player has been accorded special concession to the detriment of others,” he stressed.
The lawmaker further urged the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to take more than a passing interest in the feud among industry players to forestall actions that could disrupt petroleum products distribution.
“I urge NUPENG, PENGASSAN, and all concerned stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue with Dangote rather than inciting division and undue sensationalism in the media. Our common goal should be to balance labour rights with the imperatives of national development and not put ordinary citizens at the receiving end of a needless power tussle,” Ndume said.
