Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II
Why some people in NNPC are sabotaging Dangote refinery – Emir Sanusi
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has weighed in on the controversy and furore surrounding the operation of the $20 billion Aliko Dangote Refinery.
For days on end now, Dangote, a hitherto reclusive and laconic character, has made headlines over his public expression of his frustration with the treatment that has been meted out to him and his investment, especially the refinery, by some government officials.
Speaking on the the topical issue, Emir Sanusi said some vested interested in the Nigerian-owned petroleum company, NNPC, don’t want the refinery to see the light of day.
He said this in reaction to the claim by Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, that Nigeria can’t depend on Dangote’s refinery for petroleum products, especially Automotive Gas Oil and Dual Purpose Kerosene, DPK.
Sanusi said the claim is laughable, adding that a local refinery would guarantee energy security than imported petroleum products.
He added that the people in the NNPC don’t want to end their lucrative subsidy scam to end.
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Sanusi shared his take on the raging public discourse while commenting on a SOP Chat Group.
He said “This is most laughable. On the contrary, relying on a local refinery is far more secure than these imports.
“It is a very rich argument from an entity that had taken billions of dollars in the name of turnaround maintenance and not produced a drop of product from four refineries because it is more profitable to continue extracting rent in the name of subsidy. If NNPC activated its refineries, there would be no monopoly. Then, we can see the sulphur content of its products and compare them to Dangote’s.”
He said further: “Until then, keeping quiet is the honourable option for it, NNPC and its spinoffs have lost any right to talk until they fix the mess they have thrown us into.
“In any case, if the Dangote refinery is unable to meet local demand, the gap can be filled by imports, these people in NNPC do not want to end their lucrative subsidy scam, and I don’t think they will end it.
” But as a nation, if we do not thank Dangote for what he has done as an African to deal a hammer blow to multinationals and the rentier system and for structural change in this economy through value added in various sectors, we should not condemn him.
“Also, we tend to repeat stories without evidence. We hear about Dangote getting favourable taxation but no one has said what this tax is, if he got it alone or if it was offered to a sector or to pioneers, and if such a practice is in fact normal to encourage investment.”
The emir concluded thus: “Instead of killing Dangote, we should try and make more like him. Nigeria always kills its heroes and its best because of envy and pettiness.”
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