Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), has expressed concern over the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) apparent lack of enthusiasm for the Dangote Refinery. Yusuf, speaking on Channels Television’s Business Morning segment of the Sunrise Daily program, described the situation as troubling.
“I am worried that the NNPC is not showing enough excitement about this Dangote Refinery, and it is very strange,” Yusuf stated. “Like many other Nigerians, we expect the NNPC to be a lot more enthusiastic. But from the body language and pronouncements, it doesn’t seem like that, and that will be very, very bad for this economy.”
Yusuf, the former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), questioned why the NNPCL has not yet begun loading petrol from the Dangote Refinery, despite the refinery’s readiness.
“What I do know from Dangote’s announcements is that they are ready and have the product, and suddenly, we saw that supply had improved,” Yusuf noted. “But apparently, the NNPCL has gone to import again. Why should that be? Something is not adding up.”
Yusuf suggested that the delay could be driven by self-interest within the NNPCL, warning that this could undermine the significant progress the Dangote Refinery represents for Nigeria’s economy.
“I don’t know why people are now backtracking and almost sabotaging such a big initiative. Perhaps it could be issues of self-interest. This cannot be in the best interest of the Nigerian economy,” he added.
To address the rising cost of petrol, Yusuf proposed localizing oil and gas transactions to reduce foreign exchange pressure. He emphasized that relying on local refineries, such as Dangote’s, would conserve foreign exchange, create jobs, and increase transparency in the fuel supply process.
“We need to localize fuel importation. Luckily, we now have the Dangote Refinery. It’s a great opportunity to localize all transactions relating to fuel supply. That will increase transparency, strengthen our reserves, and moderate the pressure on the exchange rate,” Yusuf said.
He called on higher authorities to intervene in the situation, stressing that the issue should not be left solely to the NNPCL. “Higher authorities need to weigh in on this because the way it is, I’m not sure we can leave this big issue only to the NNPCL,” he concluded.
