Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) against taking over the Dangote Refinery. This warning comes in response to comments by businessman Aliko Dangote, suggesting that the NNPCL should buy the refinery to address accusations of monopoly.
Dangote made these remarks amid ongoing controversies surrounding his 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery. Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, had criticized Dangote and other local refineries for producing inferior fuels.
Ahmed stated, “We cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation. Dangote is requesting that we suspend or stop importation of all petroleum products, especially AGO, and direct all marketers to the refinery. That is not good for the nation in terms of energy security and market competition due to monopoly.”
In response, Dangote expressed his willingness to hand over the refinery to the government. “Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labeled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s okay. If they buy me out, at least their so-called monopolist would be out of the way,” he said.
However, Agbakoba, in a statement on Monday, disagreed with this approach, questioning, “Why take over what a private individual built? Why can’t the Federal Government fix its refineries after all these years?”
He argued that there is no justification for allowing an efficient businessman to be perceived as holding the country to ransom when there is a simpler alternative. Agbakoba emphasized that Nigeria needs to focus on fixing its own refineries and improving the country’s infrastructure, including electricity, potable water, healthcare, education, roads, and food supply.
“The simple alternative for us all is this – Let Nigeria work. Let there be light. Let there be food. Let there be water. Let there be jobs. Let there be money, schools, healthcare, roads, and others,” he stressed.
Agbakoba concluded that taking over the Dangote Refinery is not the solution to the alleged monopoly. Instead, he urged the Federal Government to fix its own refineries, stating that if all refineries were operational, there would be no talk of a Dangote Refinery monopoly.
He also expressed his support for Dangote and other local refineries, noting that they would enhance the nation’s refining capacity and reduce dependence on fuel imports.
Recently, Agbakoba had urged President Bola Tinubu to overhaul the country’s energy sector and regulatory framework.