Something unclear is going on, Ezekwesili weighs in on Dangote and NNPCL saga

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has weighed in on the ongoing feud between Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the Dangote Group on one hand and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, on the other.

The chaos began when Farouk Ahmed, chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), accused the newly built Dangote refinery and other local refineries of producing inferior quality products compared to those imported into the country.

The oil regulator also accused Dangote of planning to monopolise the sector, leading the billionaire businessman to say he was willing to sell his refinery to NNPCL, but also denied the regulator’s claims.

Ezekwesili who shared his thoughts on the issue in a post on his X account on Tuesday, said there was something else behind the issue as something unclear was going on.

He appealed to the government and NNPCL to come clean and tell Nigerians what is really happening.

“I have not commented on the Dangote-NNPC refinery saga to stay true to my mantra that evidence should always be the basis of our opinions,” he wrote.

“However, as more information filters out from both sides, we can conclude that something very shady has happened and needs to be fully exposed for public accountability. And it needs to be done immediately.

READ ALSO: Ezekwesili slams Nigerian leaders’ wasteful spending during economic crisis

“How could a project that by definition has achieved the status of a “project of national interest” be marred by this embarrassing controversy taking place in the presence of the local and international investment community?

“Did @NigeriaGov not tell us they borrowed $3.3 billion from AFREXIM Bank to take stake in Dangote refinery?

“When we were in power, I often told the leadership of @nnpclimited that they cannot run the government as if there is a “Federal Republic of NNPC” just because they consider themselves to be the “goose that lays the golden eggs”.

“The opacity of the NNPC is the reason we took great joy in designing the Multi-Stakeholders Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency International @nigeriaeiti in the early 2000s which I spearheaded as Chairman.

“We go beyond the global voluntary minimum standards on transparency requirements by enshrining our standards in the Act establishing NEITI as the Transparency Regulator for the Petroleum and Minerals sector.

“President @NGR has a duty to Nigerians to immediately use the NEITI instrument to launch an Independent Audit of the Dangote Refinery-NNPC transaction to provide the public with the truth.

“It is in the national interest to do so.”

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