Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that those benefiting from fuel importation will do all within their powers to frustrate the progress made by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria.

Obasanjo stated this in an interview with the Financial Times where he described the Dangote refinery as a project that should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians.

“Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria.

“If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated,” he stated.

The former Nigerian leader shared his opinion on the heels of recent allegations by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that some government and non-government officials were trying to frustrate the $20bn refinery.

It’d be recalled that Officials of the Dangote Group recently cried out that international oil companies were frustrating the refinery by refusing to sell crude or by selling to them at a premium up to $4 above the normal price.

The outcry prompted the Federal Executive Council’s directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in the Nigerian currency – naira against United States’ dollars.

The refinery also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of deliberately granting licenses to individuals to import dirty fuel.

In its response, the regulator denied this, alleging that Dangote diesel was inferior when compared to the imported ones.

The NMDPRA’s Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed then declared that the country would not stop fuel importation to avoid a monopoly by the Dangote Group.

Dangote Refinery commenced operations at the facility located in Lagos last December with 350,000 barrels a day.

The refinery hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.

It has however commenced the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country, while petrol supply is expected to commence in August amid regulatory resistance.

*We”Ll Take Decision On Suspension Of Strike At NEC Meeting Today-Ajaero

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday night, assured the leaders of the organised labour that the Port Harcourt refinery will commence operations by December 2023.

The organised labour revealed this in a statement on Wednesday night.

The labour centers also noted that the president made a series of promises following which they agreed to return to the negotiations table.

The national presidents of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero and Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo in the statement also hailed Nigerians for supporting the nationwide protest.

“It is pertinent to inform Nigerians that the extent of the success of the protest is underlined by the request of the President of the federal republic of Nigeria; Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu to meet with the leadership of the NLC and TUC in a closed-door session.

“The engagement was fruitful that immense mileage was obtained with regards to the issues that bogged down the work of the Presidential Committee on Subsidy removal and necessitated the protest viz; He committed to an immediate restructuring of the framework for engagement in line with the input of the Labour leaders.

“He let out a certainty that the Port Harcourt Refinery will commence production by December this year. He pledged to ensure that Agreement is reached on the Wage Award for Nigerian workers immediately.

“He promised to unveil a workable roadmap to the CNG alternative next week. On the strength of the president’s pledge and commitment, we have decided to return to a new and reinvigorated dialogue process to allow for full implementation.

“Once again, we thank Nigerians while we wait for the Government to fulfill its own part of the understanding as agreed with His Excellency; the President.”

Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the brief meeting with the President, the President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said they deepened their discussions with the President on palliatives for workers.

He disclosed that the President explained certain things hitherto not in his nationwide broadcast to them at the meeting.

On whether the President urged them to call off the strike, Ajaero said no one person could do that disclosing however that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC would meet today (Thursday) to decide on the next line.of action.

He said, “We met with him (President Tinubu). The issues we discussed are the same issues that led to the protest today.

“He has expressed his position, made some commitments, which were taken side-by-side with what the Senate said, and we’re taking it back to the office with our colleagues to review it and release a document on our next line of action.”

Asked whether the commitments were different from the one he did during the broadcast, Ajaero, flanked by the TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo said, “We have gone deeper into them. The broadcast has broader issues, but there are one or two things that need immediate attention.”

Further asked whether the organised labour will call off the peaceful protest, he said, “No one person can call it off. That’s why I said we’ll have to go back to the office. So that they will look at it, the Exco looks at it before they come up. And by tomorrow, the NLC will equally have their NEC meeting, to look at the bigger picture.”

Asked whether the President told them to suspend the protest, he simply said, “The President is a pro-democracy activist. So he understands protests.”

Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika has said a collaboration between the Aviation Ministry and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) was paramount in the Civil Aviation part of the Nigerian economy.

Sirika made this statement during a courtesy call to the Ministry by the MOFI management for collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the organisation on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Minister expressed his excitement that there was a structure for MOFI, and it has fallen into the right hand to get the mandate of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria delivered and effected appropriately.

A statement by Nawani Abdullahad, an
Assistant Director (Press) in the Ministry, said the Minister recalled that during the Nation’s Transition Committee period, there was an extensive discussion as to what contribution the aviation sector could make, and it was considered to add up to 5% to the GDP of Nigeria.

The Minister added that a road map was created for the Civil Aviation industry to create a robust sector that would be financially healthy and which would also make aviation the most preferred means of transportation.

Speaking earlier at the meeting, the CEO of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Takang congratulated the Minister on his recent appointment as a member of the MOFI Governing Council.

He said the appointment demonstrated Mr President’s trust in him given his vast experience in driving governance to achieve desirous outcomes, which would be valuable for MOFI in delivering significant value to its key stakeholders and its portfolio companies.
Dr Armstrong recalled that MOFI was used as a Special Purpose Vehicle across the economic sector, focused on holdingfederall government investments, which it had been using to invest in commercial entities for over 60 years.

However, he added that MOFI was not structured to deliver on the mandate that was expected of it, noting that its peers established at the same time and restructured to reflect current realities, had gone on to make major social and economic impacts in their respective countries. Many of them, he said, had become global brands for investing beyond their home countries’ borders.

He said, in line with the approval of Mr.President to create a comprehensive National Asset Register (NAR) by aggregating, profiling and managing all national assets and investments, the NAR would be harnessed to strengthen the nation’s fiscal and economic realities and the optimization of our investments and assets, noting that the development and modernization of the country’s airports was crucial for socio economic development.

The MOFI Chief Executive further expressed their strong interest in supporting the growth and expansion of Nigerian airlines, adding that MOFI would like to explore ways in which it can provide financing and investment for airlines to expand their fleets, enhance their devices and compete on the global stage.

He noted that the investment and collaboration would bring about mutual benefits for both MOFI and the Ministry of Aviation.