The debate over the “fitness” of the nascent Dangote Refinery’s goods has become an occasion for individuals to engage in unnecessary witch-hunting and the pursuit of selfish objectives in our oil sector.
Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulation Authority, NMDPRA, made questionable statements claiming that Refinery goods were inferior to imported ones, which startled many Nigerians. It provoked an immediate response from the House of Representatives, whose Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, ordered a Special Joint Committee led by Ikenga Ugochinyere to investigate the situation.
After visiting the Refinery, the Committee, while certifying that its products were among the best in the world, called for Ahmed’s and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari, to be fired, despite the fact that a forensic investigation was still scheduled.
Approximately 118 members of the House of Representatives supposedly signed a statement calling for Kyari’s ouster, although several of the alleged signatories distanced themselves from the request, claiming it was the personal view of individual members, with Ugochinyere as the ring leader.
It is encouraging to learn that Speaker Abbas has committed to form another Ad Hoc Committee. It is apparent that the media uncertainty surrounding the Ugochinyere committee’s operations disqualified it as an impartial body capable of attaining the stated goal.
How can a committee chairman advocate for the removal of an official when no evidence has been presented that he committed any wrongdoing? What is the connection between Farouk Ahmed’s statements and this call? When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who also serves as the Petroleum Resources Minister, took office, he made a number of appointments, including retaining Mele Kyari as the oil industry’s leader due to the latter’s track record.
Kyari is a defunct NNPC thoroughbred who took over as its GMD on July 7, 2019. He championed the final stages that resulted in former President Muhammadu Buhari signing the landmark Petroleum Industry Bill, or PIB, in August 2021, and oversaw the changes that turned the Corporation into a limited liability business.
Under his leadership, the NNPCL had its accounts audited for the first time in its history and announced its biggest profit in 45 years, N2.548 trillion, in 2022. In August 2022, Nigeria was reported to generate only 800,000bpd of crude oil. The statistic, which rose to 1.6 million bpd in March 2024, has now risen to 1.7 million bpd due to the ongoing struggle against oil thieves.
Nigeria is making consistent progress under Mele Kyari’s leadership of the NNPCL. What we need is for him to ensure that President Tinubu’s decision to supply crude to all refineries is carried out immediately in order to fully restore Nigeria’s refining self-reliance.
