Jacob Segun Olatunji, Author at Tribune Online

The Conference of Energy & Finance Consultants (CEFC), a group championing integrity, quality delivery, and financial management amongst energy consultants, has called on the major oil regulatory agencies in Nigeria to allow local refineries to function smoothly. In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday by Engr. Anthony Igeriwa, its Spokesperson, the group said that the call was made in the larger interest of the masses. The group specifically urged the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, and the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, to encourage local refineries in Nigeria to grow. The energy consultants said they gathered from sources within that the NNPCL would soon withhold the supply of crude oil to Dangote and other local refineries in Nigeria. The sole reason for this, according to the group, was to encourage the continued importation of petroleum resources, which had hampered the economic growth of the nation and caused grave hazards to the end consumers due to the adulteration of products. They argued that the low importation level in January and February of the first quarter of the year 2025 has helped drastically to reduce corruption amongst the stakeholders in the country. According to the statement, "The NNPCL is apprehensive of the efforts of the Dangote Refinery and other local refineries for ending the regime of corruption in the oil sector. "The fuel importation cabal want fuel importation to continue, and hence, they are planning to stop the release of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and others. "The Dangote Petrochemical Refinery in Lagos is adjudged the largest single and private refinery in Africa, and it is believed that very soon, all the neighbouring countries and other countries would be exporting the refined fuel from Nigeria. "This is largely due to its richness in content and refined quality. The product is not adulterated, and the supplies to the independent marketers, retailers, and end users are smooth and friendly, unlike what we used to have. "This is the kind of thing the oil cabals don't want to see. Those who have held us hostage economically want to see us cry more. They want to see the long queue return to our fuel stations. They want to see more of our fuel pumps and vehicles damaged by fake fuel. "They want the few privileged crooks to continue importing fake products to Nigeria, while they at the regulatory agencies live fat on our anguish. They want the poor to become poorer, leaving only a few of them to manipulate our commonwealth. But thank God Dangote has ended their career. The rest will be history by God's grace," the statement added. The group called on the National Assembly to expedite actions on the ongoing probe of the importation of adulterated petroleum products to Nigeria, urging the lawmakers to stand with the masses by ensuring crude oil is adequately and regularly supplied to Dangote and other local refineries in Nigeria. ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE