Despite the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s ability to meet domestic demand, energy expert Dan Kunle has cautioned that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited and some marketers’ continuous importation of petrol and diesel is detrimental to the nation. According to recent statistics, in just four months, NNPC and oil marketers spent N5.5 trillion on the importation of petrol and diesel.
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Dan Kunle compared the infamous ‘cement Armada’—a scandal from the 1970s, during Nigeria’s oil boom, when hundreds of ships loaded with cement flooded the ports, causing years of congestion—to the massive importation of petrol and diesel by NNPC and some marketers over the past four months during an appearance on Arise TV on Sunday.
Kunle stated his dissatisfaction that key government entities are flagrantly disobeying President Bola Tinubu’s directions with no repercussions, even after the Federal Executive Council decided to distribute local crude oil to domestic refineries.
After the Federal Executive Council decided in October 2024 to distribute local crude to domestic refineries, I anticipated a shift. Dangote Refinery was the main participant because of its technological capability. But nothing has changed, and there is still a significant influx of petroleum coming from abroad. Like the cement Armada, it is still a fully imported Armada.
The enormous volume of imports we are seeing raises major questions about the true nature of the situation. Is there a plan to oversupply the market, bring inferior petroleum to Nigeria, and maybe sabotage Dangote Refinery? This is a mistake because the Dangote Refinery is up and running, generating high-quality goods and refining 550,000 barrels per day. There is absolutely no need for this importation.
It’s time to call on the president to take action and put a permanent stop to this petrol import scam’, he said. According to Kunle, it is illogical for some people to keep advocating for imports, particularly in light of the fact that nations like the US are defending their own sectors in order to strengthen their own economies. He went on to say that the regulatory bodies had been ignoring the Dangote Refinery’s potential to guarantee energy security for years.
He urged President Tinubu to insist that the appropriate authorities provide a timeline detailing Nigeria’s transition from a net importer of refined goods to a net exporter. Kunle emphasised that the Dangote Refinery is an important national resource and asked the government to remove any barriers to its efficient operation. “A strategic asset for the country is the Dangote Refinery. A court case is not necessary.
The federal government ought to take control. The government should request a transition schedule from NMDPRA so that we may move from importing gasoline to becoming self-sufficient without resorting to a judicial dispute. It will be detrimental to the nation if the president remains distant.
If you view an investment like Dangote’s as an enemy, no fresh investments will come. “The real enemies are the importers,” he declared. Kunle emphasised that Nigeria ought to be moving away from its dependency on oil imports and towards being a net exporter of refined petroleum products given the capacity of the Dangote Refinery and the rumoured resuscitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
