Oil subsidy mafia rising against Dangote, South-South stakeholders tell Tinubu

South-South stakeholders have called on President Bola Tinubu to fish out and penalize the petrol barons operating underground to upset the working of refineries in the country, including the recently established Dangote Refinery.

They said the showdown between Dangote, and the oil industry regulators was a collusion masterminded by the oil industry mafia, urging the President to read between the lines.

Unmask the saboteurs —Ambakaderimo, South-South leader

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Communities’ Development Committee of the Niger Delta, Joseph Ambakaderimo, said: “The breeze is blowing and the rump of the chicken will be exposed”.
“For some of us, the actions taken so far against the Dangote group are deliberate because certainly, the Dangote Refinery came as a disruption, which some vested interests did not see coming.

“It exposes why our refineries have remained comatose, people are feeding fat from the wrong things going there. The government is encouraged to identify and punish those involved in this sabotage of our refineries.”

Tinubu, NASS, govs should stop the mafia —Inwalomhe, JRC

The Executive Director of Justice Research Centre (JRC), Donald Inwalomhe, who spoke in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, said it was obvious that the beneficiaries of the subsidy regime have ganged up to frustrate the Dangote Refinery’s access to crude oil.

“The subsidy billionaires benefitting from subsidy in Nigeria are the mafia within the Nigerian oil industry working against Dangote. They worked for the refineries in Warri and Port Harcourt to collapse so that they would continue to get billions of naira from the subsidy for imported petroleum products.

“They are the ones equally working against the modular refineries that have been completed, they want subsidy to continue, which is why they are denying Dangote crude oil and telling the federal government to continue to import petroleum products.

“That is the challenge we are facing as we speak today. The petroleum industry in the South-South has collapsed, if you go to Warri, the Warri Refinery is like a ghost town since the refinery is no longer functioning. They are like a drug cartel in the petroleum industry, we can call them petroleum barons, who do not want our refineries to work.

“We call on the state governors, all the members of the state Houses of Assembly across Nigeria, and members of the National Assembly, which is the Senate and the House of Representatives to rally around Dangote, and ensure that the Dangote Refinery works. All other modular refineries should be encouraged to start operations.

“Look at Edo state, for instance, we have two modular refineries that are not working, one is in Ologbo built by the Chinese and Edo State government, and another one in Orhionmwon. Both of them are completed but they are not working, if they go into production and add their output to the one coming from Dangote, it will help to solve the issue of importation of petroleum products.

”Our governors should work with President Tinubu to ensure the Dangote Refinery works. The subsidy mafias have destroyed the economy of the South-South, they are making sure that both Warri and Port Harcourt refineries remain dormant.”

This‘s a conspiracy – Gbemre, NDPC

Coordinator of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition, NDPC, Zik Gbemre, in his reaction, said: “This is another conspiracy to fool Nigerians to accept greedy stakeholders’ trumped-up industry challenges to induce continued hikes in fuel prices.”

“The regulators were involved in approvals through the construction to the hurried commissioning. Why are they having issues at the time that Dangote Refinery is putting out products? Remember that this is a refinery the regulators passed as the best in Africa and beyond.

Mr. President should sort out the issue —Jonjon, ex-IYC president

A former president of the Ijaw Youth Congress, IYC, Dr. Onyienfie Jonjon posited that the misunderstanding between Dangote and the regulators was about economic interest.

His words: “Dangote cannot operate without the NNPCL, and NNPCL cannot do without Dangote. The oil cabal does not want Dangote to succeed, and the government still pays subsidies. If Dangote comes full stream, how will the cabal continue to enjoy the subsidy that they are getting?

He suggested that as the Minister of Petroleum, President Tinubu should summon a meeting of NNPCL, and Dangote Refinery to iron out whatever crisis they are having.

”While we do not support monopoly in any guise and form, knowing the impact the Dangote Refinery would have on the Nigeria economy, certain concessions should be made so that we can have a win-win situation for both the investors and Nigerians.

“We urge both parties to put the interest of the country and its people first, and look for amicable ways to resolve this lingering issue.”

More than meets the eye —Idi, NNYM scribe

The Secretary of the Ndokwa National Youth Movement, NNYM, in Delta State, Presley Idi, said, “We find the outburst by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) chief executive, Adamu Farouk, against the Dangote Refinery, shocking, surprising and uncalled for.”

“While we believe there is more to the outburst than meets the eye, it was shocking to hear and this has certainly created bad waves for Nigeria globally, which is not needed this time.

“We think that the issues of product quality of the Dangote Refinery made by Farouk could have been resolved without coming to the press. There is power tussle behind the scenes, and it is sad because the common men bear the brunt.”

Diversionary tactic —Saviour, COMPPART

A human rights activist in Akwa Ibom State and executive director of COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peace Building, Mr Saviour Akpan, described the friction between Aliko Dangote and the regulators as a diversionary tactic.

Akpan advised Nigerians to do the right thing by asking questions, instead of pointing fingers or buck-passing.

Vanguard

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