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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo stated that those profiting from the lucrative fuel importation business will attempt to hinder the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Obasanjo's remarks came after Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group, alleged that certain 'mafias' were working to frustrate the $20bn refinery.
It was also reported that the multi-billion dollar refinery and other domestic refineries had not yet purchased crude oil in naira, as directed by President Bola Tinubu to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
In an interview with Financial Times, the former President described the Dangote refinery as something that should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians.
"Aliko's investment in a refinery, if successful, should motivate both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria.
Those currently selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria may try to hinder his efforts, fearing the loss of a lucrative opportunity.
Officials of the Dangote Group have complained that international oil companies are obstructing the refinery by refusing to sell crude or selling it at a premium of up to $4 above the normal price."
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority was accused of deliberately granting licences to individuals to import inferior fuel.
The regulator denied this, stating that Dangote diesel was inferior to the imported ones.
The NMDPRA Chief Executive said Nigeria would not stop fuel importation to avoid a monopoly by the Dangote Group.
Obasanjo stated that Nigeria made a deadly mistake by focusing solely on oil, neglecting gas and agriculture, which should have been the centrepiece of economic development.
He recalled how he tried to persuade Shell to run the country's refineries, but the International Oil Company refused, citing excessive corruption in the sector.
"When I was President, I invited Shell and asked them to take equity participation and run our refineries for us. They refused, saying our refineries have not been well maintained. They claimed there's too much corruption in the way our refinery is run and maintained, and they didn't want to get involved in such a mess.
On the promises that the refineries will be fixed, he questioned how many times they have been told that and at what price. Those problems have never gone away and have even increased. If the problem is not removed, there's no progress.
The former President also criticized the current administration's approach to removing fuel subsidies, stating that they should have first considered the hardship it could cause people and how to mitigate it. The subsidy removal has not solved the problem, as inflation has brought it back.
He emphasized the need for investor confidence in Nigeria, stating that the country must transition from a transactional economy to a transformational economy."
