Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has questioned the growing reliance of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the Dangote Refinery for the supply of refined petroleum products, describing the development as troubling for a country with multiple government owned refineries.
He raised concerns over Nigeria’s growing reliance on the Dangote Refinery for refined petroleum products, questioning the country’s energy management amid escalating global tensions triggered by the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
Falana while reacting to the current structure of Nigeria’s petroleum supply chain, noting that the nation appears to have shifted its dependence almost entirely to the Dangote Refinery despite huge public funds spent on rehabilitating state owned refineries.
According to him, about $2.9 billion had reportedly been expended on the maintenance and rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four government owned refineries over the years, yet the facilities have failed to deliver meaningful output.
The senior advocate expressed worry that after such enormous financial commitments, the country is now celebrating reliance on a privately owned refinery to meet domestic fuel demands.
Falana questioned whether such an approach represents a sustainable strategy for managing the nation’s energy sector.
“The NNPCL now solely relies on Dangote Refinery. Is this how to run a country? After pouring money down the drain, $2.9 billion was spent on maintaining our four refineries; nobody is talking about that. Now it’s all about Dangote,” he said while featuring on a national television programme on Channels TV.
He stressed that Nigerians deserve transparency and accountability regarding the funds spent on the turnaround maintenance of the nation’s refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.
Falana called on relevant authorities to explain why the refineries have remained largely non-functional despite the huge investments, adding that the country must adopt a more responsible and transparent approach to managing its petroleum infrastructure.
He further maintained that while private sector investment in refining is commendable, government owned refineries should not be abandoned after billions of dollars have been committed to their rehabilitation.
