By Mary Onyia
Following the faceoff between Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group and the Nigeria National Petroleum Companies Limited, NNPCL, over the latter’s failure to fulfil its obligation to Dangote Refinery in the allocation of crude oil, Dangote has accused the NNPCL of illegally creating a petroleum refinery in Malta where they import ‘dirty’ fuel in to the country.
The chairman of the Dangote Group made this known at a public speech where he noted that the NNPC cabals were responsible for the importation of inferior fuel in Nigeria.
In the speech aired by Channels TV, Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian Billionaire businessman and industrialist, said, “Even at 650,000 bpm and 700,000 bpm that we are producing was a better quality than what was imported. And I am sure most of you will have problems with your vehicle because of the bad fuel that were imported into the country, I still stand by what I said.
“Go to filling station, you can pick it up and check the quality. That is only way. But all these one somebody will bring in ship, bring in fake certificates. Some NNPC people, some traders have opened a blending plant somewhere in Malta. We all know these areas, we know what they are doing.
He added, “I have been fighting all my life. I am a very fearless person. I believe so much in God and I don’t fear anybody. They can do whatever they want. I am not scared, I will fight head on.”
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, had later chaired a high-level meeting over the challenges facing the Dangote Refinery, Lagos, which the government believes, is a critical project in the oil sector.
A statement on Monday by the Special Adviser Media and Communication to the Minister, Nneamaka Okafor, had said the meeting was attended by Mr. Aliko Dangote, Chairman and CEO of Dangote Group; Mr. Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Other are “Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Mr. Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).”
According to the statement, the stakeholders expressed their gratitude to the Honourable Minister for his exemplary leadership and timely intervention in facilitating this crucial dialogue.
For sometime now, both the Chairman of Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), have taken the fight to the public sphere making various allegations against each other.
It will be recalled that after the billionaire businessman held a press briefing where he took some journalists on a tour of the refinery in Lagos, the NMDPRA reacted, following stories in the media on how the federal government had failed to live up to its obligation to the refinery.
There has been accusations and counter accusations by both parties over who is responsible for importing ‘inferior’ fuel.
The NMDPRA boss had said the quality of Dangote Refinery products was inferior compared to imported ones.
Aliko Dangote has since fought back saying that the NNPCL had created a cabal in Malta that are responsible for the importation of bad fuel into the country. The billionaire businessman has vowed to fight it out claiming in his public speeches since the war of words began that he was not going to be cowed and was not afraid of anyone.
It remains to be seen how the conflict will be resolved.
With Additional Reports From Sahara Reporters