A non-governmental organisation, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) has said there are many questions left unanswered by the Nigerian government as Dangote Refinery is scheduled to be inaugurated today (Monday).
Comrade Taiwo Otitolaye, the National Coordinator PWYP Nigeria noted that the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari had announced that Nigeria’s national oil company would begin to supply Dangote refinery 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily this week.
The 300,000 barrels is 46.2% of Dangote Refinery’s daily crude oil needs.
The Dangote Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Nigerian billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote.
The group, however, described it as “another phase and the beginning of the corporate capture of our Commonwealth by frontiers of the ruling class” while asking the Muhammadu Buhari government what will be the fate of Nigeria’s four refineries.
He said, “Mr. Kyari was quoted to have said that ‘we want to address the energy challenges so that industrialization can come to the country.’
“Has any monopoly arrangements ever enthroned industrialization in any climes?
“The Publish What You Pay (PWYP), Nigeria wonders why the nation’s four (4) refineries that several billions of dollars have been wasted on cannot work while the managers of our economy are happy to cheaply give away the people’s natural resources while host communities live in degraded, environmentally polluted and disease invested underserved communities: and the citizenry lives in abject poverty.
“Industrialization, growth and development can only come when we deploy our resources for a productive economy away from casino economy.
“When our refineries are functional, we derive several dozens of petroleum by-products like petrol, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, paraffin, heavy fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gases (LPG), petrochemical, feedstock and bitumen including fertilizer, flooring (floor covering), perfume, insecticide, petroleum jelly, soap, vitamins and some essential amino acids, etc.
“All these petroleum wastes will reposition thousands of our ailing and collapsed industries for value chain activities, employment and revenue generation; for the government, the informal economy and the mass of our people.
“To us, productivity is the road to industrialization and national development.
“We have said it for the umpteenth time that oil swaps will continue in a weak, leaking, corrupt, and compromised system like we have suffered and continue to suffer in Nigeria.”
He identified some of the unanswered questions: “What are the contents of the contract agreement with the Dangote refinery? For how long are we going to continue? Oil swaps that are wastages compared to self-oil refining?
“How would it address industrialization of the country? What happens to the nation’s four (4) refineries that we have wasted several billions of dollars in TAM, staff remunerations and other expenses?
“Would our refineries go the way of the Discos, Gencos and other government enterprises that were grossly undervalued and sold under the guise of privatization?
“For how long would this path of economic sabotage and looting of commonwealth last?”