By Elizabethh Chukwuma
When Aliko Dangote, a multi-billionaire, Kano state born business mogul, came up with the idea of establishing of the twenty billion refinery of the North American country of the United States, US, dollars, with a processing capacity of 650,000 B/d, in a $100 million of land in Lekki Free Trade Zone,LFTZ, area acquired from the Lagos state government the excitement in the faces of Nigerians knew no bounds.
Nigerians were said to have heaved a sigh of relief of that at long last Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol, and other petroleum product will be produced locally that will make the price of the products reasonable the marketers retail outlets across the country.
The argument in both official and unofficial circles was that the Dangote refinery will go a long way to eliminate all the deceitful costs associated with the importation of the products into the country such as hipping, insurance and port charges that would force the prices of the products down.
Nigerians may have bargained more than what they can chew as they may fallen into the hands of the shrewd business man who enjoys monopoly to make profit, Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation, NNPC, now baptized Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, under the close watch of Mele Kolo Kyari and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authorities, NMDPRA , including the Presidency who are out to impoverish them.
Many had expected that with Dangote refinery as a private limited Liability company there will be no room for NNPCL and the Presidency to join forces to be manipulating the issue of petrol price fixing instead of allowing the ompany sell to a willing buyer as obtained in the US, United Kingdom, UK, Europe and the Asian country of China and other parts of the world but got it wrong.
I is not surprising why people had seen the government owned refineries as a drain pipe to the economy had looked at the Dangote refinery as going to impoverish the masses by conniving with the Authorities over the issue of petrol price fixing.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state, now spending his two weeks’ vacation abroad, shuttling between UK and France, and members of his Economic Management team may have sent a message to Nigerians barely hours on resumption of office on May 29, 2023, not to celebrate about the completion of the Dangote refinery when he cancelled petrol subsidy and unified the official and parallel or black markets exchange rates.
Subseuent policies of the government shows that the oil octopus, NNPC, would remain be sole importer of petroleum products and buyer of products from the existing refineries in the country and the Dangote refinery and in turn re-sale to the major and Independent Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN
Recall that Babatunde Fashola, a former governor of Lagos state and a former minister of works during President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration had alluded that lack of critical infrastructure like petroleum refinery had caused an oil producing country like Nigeria, which is a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, to import petroleum products, noting that it is what I causing the rising petrol prices in the country.
The former Lagos state governor, who had succeeded Tinubu in office as governor of Lagos may have given Nigerians a cause to worry when he noted that even with if the Port Harcort , Kaduna and Warri refineries with a combined processing capacity of 450,00b/d, and in addition to the 650,00b/d, Dangote refinery and other local refineries still in the works resume production at their optimum level, it would not make much impact in stopping the fluctuation of petrol price in the marketers filling stations . This is because of the poorstate of Nigerian roads, bridges and other basic infrastructural facilities like telecommunication facilities across the country.
Ali Ndume, a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Borno state born politician would want Nigerians to believe that there are elements within the Tinubu’s Administration who are doing everything within their powers ‘’to pitch the people against the Tinubu’s Administration by pushing for harsh economic reforms and bad policies instead of controlling inflation and the country’s exchange that are making life miserable for Nigerians’’. Many had expected the ranking Senator to expose those people influencing the Nigerian to initiate bad economic policies to inflict economic pains on suffering , hungry, frustrated and angry Nigerians who have been pushed to wall and could no longer bear.
An aggrieved Senator Ndume, who appears to be under pressure from the electorate in his constituency in Borno state over the astronomical in increase in the pump price of products and which in turn affects the prices of food stuff, imported goods and services, may have read the handwriting on the wall that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder that he has asked the former Lagos state governor to listen the cries of Nigerians and reduce the pump price of petrol.
The WorldBank /International Monetary Fund, IMF, may have shocked the international Community when it stated in its latest report that the most populous West African country, Nigeria, is facing worsening food crisis, with over one million additional people experiencing severe food in in this 2024 fiscal year compared to the previous year.
In a related development, a Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, who could no longer take the excuses of the Tinubu’s Administration for continuously increasing the pump price of petrol and other petroleum products , noting that Nigeria have ‘’self-centered Leaders that believe in enriching themselves and looting the treasury’’.
Indeed, while the Nigeria Leaders are still battling to be in league of such developing economies like Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Kenya, which had reported declines in food security in their respective countries, with more than one million fewer people facing acute food crisis, 18 other countries including Nigeria are still facing worsening situation due to factors including intensified conflict and climate related shocks such as droughts. The World Bank Authorities was said to have reported that the Nigerian situation, particular, was made worse by growing insecurity crisis, fluctuation of fuel price to a combination of climate –induced issues and socio-political instability in the country’s various regions. From the north eastern, north western and the north central geopolitical regions including the south eastern geopolitical region, the story is the same: severe food crisis, which require emergency support’’. Former President Taking a closer look of the Jibia market in Katsina, home state of former President Buhari , on February 18, 2024, the AFP, online publication, had reported that Nigeria which shares of border 600Km with neighbouring Niger Republic main trading partners with US, $93 million in exports of electricity, tobacco, cement , as reported by the United Nations, UN, under the close watch of was said to have witnessed whammy for the local population , who analysts believe have seen food prices explode under a combined effect of new government policies since President Tinubu, was said to have damned the consequences was said to have implemented some economic reforms believed would turn the ortunes of the country around but had plunged the country into food crisis.
There are indications that under the Tinubu’s Administration,’’ inflation in Nigeria remains among the highest globally ‘’. It was not surprising why the bank Authorities have called for urgent intervention by the Nigerian Government the immediate food need of the populations.
As a prelude to allowing the market forces determine the price of petrol as obtained in a deregulate economy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state, now spending his two weeks’ vacation abroad, shuttling between UK and France, and members of his Economic Management team may have sent a message to Nigerians that he cares ad listens to their complaints.
This is evident as he moves to break the monopoly currently been enjoyed by NNPCL, a Limited Liability company as the sole buyer of the Dangote refinery products to give room for competition. The Federal Executive Council, under his Leadership was said to have given approval for other marketers to start lifting petrol directly from the Dangote refinery without buying the from the NNPCL.
That much was confirmed by Wale Edun, minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, who had said that the move followed a directive from FEC, stressing that ‘’the implementation of the new policy was part the naira –based sales mechanism’’ of the present Tinubu’s Administration.
According the minister,’’ the New Purchase Model’’, described in energy circles as the most significant change under the Tinubu’s Administration is that marketers can now purchase PMS, directly from Dangote refinery and all other refineries across the country ‘’ to control the fluctuation in the market’’. He may have alluded to the monopoly of NNPCL, in the market.
The minister, who chairs the Sales of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products implementation Committee, had said that ‘’the new policy marks a complete departure from the previous arrangement where NNPCL, served as the sole purchaser and distributor of petrol produced from all the Nigerian refineries and the Dangote refinery. Vintage Tinubu.
