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The convener of Bring Back Our Girls Movement, Aisha Yesufu, has described popular Nigerian singer, Seun Kuti, as a product of Fela’s indiscipline.
Aisha stated this while reacting to Seun’s recent remarks about her advocacy for women’s freedom in Nigeria.
DAILY POST reports that the singer had earlier disagreed with Yesufu following her stance on women’s freedom, saying “liberate yourself from your Hijab first”.
Reacting to Seun’s comments in a series of posts on her X handle, Yesufu said: “Seun Kuti wants to trend with my name as his karaoke business no make him blow alongside those wey dey do music.
“I don’t blame him! If only his father had discipline over his loin we wouldn’t be dealing with the consequences of that lack of discipline!
“Person wey people dey book im show because dem wan see a caricature of his father even if they can’t have the real thing.”
DAILY POST reports that Seun is the youngest son of the Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery are wrapping up discussions on crude oil sales by NNPC to the Dangote refinery in naira and the buy-back of refined petroleum products from the $20bn plant in naira.
Parties in the deal may conclude discussions next week, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, declared on Thursday during a space session organised by Nairametrics on X.
The Dangote official also revealed that oil marketers had continued to boycott the diesel and aviation fuel produced by the Lekki-based plant, stressing that they had also reported the refinery to President Bola Tinubu that the plant’s low-priced diesel was counter-productive to oil marketers’ businesses.
Edwin further revealed that NNPC had demanded to oversee the production of refined products at the Dangote refinery, based on the fact that the national oil company would supply crude to the plant.
In August 2024, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government disclosed that the sales of crude oil to Dangote refinery and other local refineries would commence on October 1, 2024.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced this during a meeting with the Implementation Committee established to implement the decision.
“The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, today led the Implementation Committee meeting on the transition to crude oil sales in naira.
“The meeting reviewed progress on key initiatives, including the upcoming commencement of naira payments for crude oil sales to the Dangote Refinery starting October 1, 2024,” the finance ministry had stated in a post on its official X handle in August.
It also stated that the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, and the Chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee reported that “The first PMS delivery from Dangote is expected next month (September) under existing agreements.”
Providing updates on this during the space session on Thursday, the Vice President at Dangote Industries, Edwin, noted that discussions were advancing on naira transactions for crude purchase and product buy-back.
Naira transactions
Edwin said, “Now we are still discussing with the government to give us the crude in naira. The discussions have been going on. It has not yet been concluded. When we buy the crude from them in naira, they will take the products back from us in naira, that’s where we are. We are still in discussions.
“So now whatever we are producing, they will buy back from us. In fact, NNPC has told us they will have a team of six to 10 people permanently stationed inside our refinery. They even told us we should give them office space because they are going to give the crude.
“They are going to monitor the production and then they will buy it back in naira. So, this is where we are and we are waiting for the conclusion of the discussions. Hopefully, by next week, if it gets concluded, we can kick off.”
Edwin stated that the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, was the one who insisted on dealing with the Nigerian government in naira because of the foreign exchange challenges confronting the country.
“When it came to petrol, we told the Presidency that if we were going to continue to import crude, our cost of production would be high and of course, our quality is very high. So, we will continue to export and manage the business. Then they sat with us and said, ‘Okay, we will try and give you crude allocation and you please produce and sell to us the products which you are producing out of the crude’. We said, yes.
“Then they said, can you sell it in naira? We said, no, we are a free zone company. We will be normally selling in dollars. They said, no, the country is in acute scarcity of dollars. So, please, we will supply the crude to you in naira. Sell the product to us in naira. Though internally, including me, some of us objected to the idea. My president clearly said we are going to accept this because the country is badly in need of foreign exchange.
“The currency value is dropping every day. Yes, I know I am going to take a loss because by the time we sell it in naira and convert it to dollars, (we are not even getting the dollars). By the time we convert, the currency may become weaker. So, we know he (Dangote) is going to lose. He said, I’m willing to take the loss in the interest of the country. I don’t mind, but the country is in bad shape. Somebody has to take certain risks. I’m willing to face the loss to whatever extent it is. So, that is how we agreed,” Edwin explained.
Marketers boycott plant
He also revealed that importers of petroleum products and marketers reported the Dangote refinery to President Tinubu after the refinery crashed the price of diesel.
According to him, over 95 per cent of petroleum product importers in Nigeria are not buying products from the Dangote refinery.
He said the refinery struggles to sell about 29 tankers of diesel per day due to low patronage from local petroleum product importers.
As a result of poor local patronage, the refinery, he said, exports most of its diesel and aviation fuel.
He said the Dangote refinery has imported around 57 shiploads of crude, as local supply from the NNPC remains limited.
“Petroleum product marketers in Nigeria have written to President Bola Tinubu, complaining that the refinery’s local diesel prices, which have dropped from N1,200 to N1,000 and now to N900 per litre, are negatively impacting their businesses,” Edwin stated.
However, he maintained that despite the challenges, 44 per cent of the refinery’s petrol production capacity is sufficient to meet Nigeria’s local demand.
He said, “You can come to the refinery and see, I can load 2,900 tankers daily. The whole country is empty, not one tanker. Whereas, where I can load 2,900 a day, not one tanker is being loaded. So they want to continue to import. So they are just blockading us.
“Number two, they (marketers) even wrote to His Excellency, the President. I have a copy I can share with all of you, where they wrote to the President, ‘Oh, Dangote Group came in and started producing diesel. They dropped the price the first time, they dropped the price the second time, and it is disturbing us.’
“So the interest of the refinery was to produce locally and try to supply at a reasonable price. So, we gave a reasonable price, we dropped and then we dropped the second time and they wrote to His Excellency, the President saying we are dropping the price and disturbing the market. So, they refused to buy from us.”
Currently, the official revealed that around 29 tankers are lifting fuel from the depot of other importers daily, neglecting local production.
Earlier, while speaking on the Brekete Family live show on Monday, Edwin said the Dangote petrol will be exported if the NNPC and other petroleum dealers in the country refuse to patronise it.
Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “There has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to blockade, and so now we have been exporting our petroleum products. PMS, we are ready to pump in as much as possible to the country.
“But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he declared.
Edwin expressed surprise that the company started facing different challenges it never expected when the refinery was set to commence operations.
He recalled that the philosophy initially was to add value to the raw materials available in the country, regretting that Nigeria is still exporting crude and importing refined petroleum products after over three decades.
Despite having a gantry that can load 2,900 tankers per day, Edwin disclosed that the refinery has not loaded up to five per cent of the gantry’s capacity owing to low local patronage.
“Go and see our product gantry, we can load 86 tankers at any given time. We can load 2,900 tankers of petroleum products every day, but we are not even loading five per cent, because those who are interested in the trading business, feel that probably this local production is going to affect their established interest, so they are not allowing our products to be sold locally. They are not coming to lift our products. So, what are we doing? We are exporting the products.
“Yes, the refinery can survive, we can import the crude, we can export petroleum products, and we can survive. But is that why he invested in the refinery?” he queried.
NNPC tackles lawmaker
In another development, the spokesperson of NNPC Olufemi Soneye, tackled Dr Muiz Banire, SAN, and former Commissioner of Transport and Environment, Lagos State, for contending in his column in a newspaper publication (not The PUNCH) that NNPC is the black hole of Nigeria.
“At this critical intersection, the task for all well-meaning Nigerians should be how to find lasting solutions to the mischiefs in the oil sector and not to look for scapegoats, as Dr Banire has done.
“According to Banire, Nigeria has been experiencing fuel scarcity since 1973 on the back of fuel subsidy and the NNPC Ltd is responsible for it. The assertion that the NNPC is responsible for this state of affairs is moot. The policy of fuel subsidy is not the preserve of the NNPC.
“Various administrations over the years have thought it wise to subsidize the cost of petroleum products for citizens. They came up with different methods of doing that. The role of NNPC Ltd has been to implement the policy as decided by the government. At a point when the various administrations felt that the fuel subsidy policy had become a burden that should be done away with, they made it known. NNPC Ltd, as the national oil company, implemented it.
“This was the case in 2012 when the nation went up in protest against the government’s decision to remove fuel subsidies. The same scenario repeated itself in 2019 when the then-administration came up with the policy to remove fuel subsidies. NNPC Ltd is neither responsible for the policy of fuel subsidy nor its removal,” Soneye stated.
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has presented the first sample of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
Dangote made this presentation on Tuesday in a broadcast at his refinery situated in the Ibeju-Lekki Area of Lagos State.
The 650,000-capacity refinery engaged in a test run of the product.
“I would like to salute the people of Nigeria and the government of President Bola Tinubu for giving us the platform for growth, development, and prosperity. I also want to thank him personally for creating the idea of the Naira for crude. Doing that will give Naira stability.
“As we have this refinery working, it will show the true consumption of Nigeria; we can track every loaded truck and ship,” he said
He also said that his refinery will meet the demands of not only Nigerians but also sub-Saharan Africa.
Details later…
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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has said that its Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, will be exported if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other petroleum dealers in the country refuse to patronise it.
The Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, stated this on Monday while featuring on Brekete Family live show.
Edwin, who confirmed a report by The PUNCH that the refinery has started the production of petrol, said local oil traders have resorted to importing diesel and aviation fuel, blocking local sales of Dangote fuel.
“We have been exporting aviation fuel, we have been producing kerosene, we have been producing diesel, but yesterday, we started the production of PMS. So, that was the last stage. The only thing now left out is petrochemicals.
“So, the good news for the country is we have started producing PMS from our refinery since yesterday (Sunday),” he confirmed.
Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “Well, I explained how there has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to block (it), and so now we have been exporting our petroleum products. PMS, we are ready to pump in as much as possible to the country.
“But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product, obviously, we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he declared.
Edwin expressed surprise that the company started facing different challenges it never expected when the refinery was set to commence operations.
He recalled that the philosophy initially was to add value to the raw materials available in the country, regretting that Nigeria is still exporting crude and importing refined petroleum products after over three decades.
“The philosophy is to take the crude, and instead of exporting the crude, refine it, add value; export the finished products, and supply the finished products locally. But unfortunately for us, we started facing challenges with the crude supply.
“What is happening today? We are struggling to get the crude. We are now importing the crude from the US, we are importing from Brazil, and from other parts of the world. So, the whole philosophy has gone upside down. After all these decades, we are exporting crude, importing products,” he added.
He stated further, “The same thing is continuing. We are not getting enough crude allocation, and the crude is still being exported. We are forced to import crude from outside. Yes, we are getting some crude locally, but it’s not adequate.”
Commenting on the laws governing domestic crude supply obligations, he said, “As per the laws, no crude can be exported, unless all the local refineries requirements are met. That is specified in the Petroleum Industry Act. But we are struggling to get the crude.”
He revealed that the company has started the construction of four crude tanks of 120 million litres capacity each to store imported crude due to low local supply.
“In fact, if you see the refinery, we are building four new crude tanks, each of the tanks has 120 million litres capacity. We have to construct the tanks because we are not getting the local crude. We import from overseas, which means we should have enough stocks due to the shipping time,” he maintained.
Lack of local patronage
Despite having a gantry that can load 2,900 tankers per day, Edwin disclosed that the refinery has not loaded up to 5 per cent of the gantry’s capacity owing to low local patronage.
“Go and see our product gantry, we can load 86 tankers at any given time. We can load 2,900 tankers of petroleum products every day, but we are not even loading five per cent, because those who are interested in the trading business, feel that probably this local production is going to affect their established interest, so they are not allowing our products to be sold locally.
“They are not coming to lift our products. So, what are we doing? We are exporting the products.
“Yes, the refinery can survive, we can import the crude, we can export petroleum products, and we can survive. But is that why he invested in the refinery?” he queried.
On fuel quality, Edwin noted that the refinery has the best laboratory in the world, boasting “No refinery can come and challenge that they have more equipment than us,” he stated.
He added that the petroleum refinery has adopted what he called the Euro 5 grade, saying this is the grade which is acceptable in Europe or the US.
“Our product can be exported to any part of the world, the best in quality, the lowest in sulphur. In terms of pollution, we have no pollution. So, we are producing the best quality products. That is how we are already exporting our product.
“Our aviation jet fuel has gone to Europe, and we are exporting our diesel. So, the refinery has been successfully launched and producing the products,” he added.
The Dangote boss disclosed that one of the philosophies of the business is that wherever it is going to operate, the business should be highly environmentally friendly.
And then, also, every business we go in, we focus on the cost of production and the energy efficiency. And the same thing, philosophy, has been adopted here. So, as we start producing, we find that the energy costs are the lowest.
‘Dangote not monopolist’
The vice president expressed concern that some people still accuse the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, of being a monopolist, saying the founder was in business to create wealth and job opportunities, even while making profits.
He disclosed that the money being made by Dangote is being reinvested into the country, creating more wealth in the country, and adding to the Gross Domestic Product.
“So, we invest our profits and borrow, and we are investing. This is how Alhaji Aliko has been investing in businesses.
“We are making money, yes, but where is the money going? It is not going to Dubai, it is not going to Switzerland, to some bank accounts. It is not going to buy properties. When I joined him in 1991, Alhaji Aliko had a house in the United States, he had a house in the United Kingdom; everything is sold today, and he is still living in his 35-year-old house.
“He has not even added more houses within the country. Everything he’s putting into manufacturing, creating employment and creating wealth, and yet he is being called a monopolist,” he stated.
Industry sources confirmed to our correspondent on Sunday that the Dangote PMS would hit the market soon.
The sources, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the government and the Dangote Group are working out modalities for the circulation of the product.
A government source hinted that the sale and distribution of the PMS is being sorted out with the Federal Government.
The source added that only the NNPC would be authorised to sell the Dangote fuel at the moment.
Recall that the Dangote petrol was supposed to have been out since June, but the refinery battled crude shortage and entered into a brawl with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, which accused the refinery of producing substandard diesel.
The intervention of the Federal Government that crude oil should be supplied to the refinery in the local currency seems to be yielding the desired result.
The PUNCH also recalls that Dangote and other local refineries have repeatedly accused international oil companies of not selling crude to them.
Recently, the Federal Government announced that the crude deal would commence in October.
The management of Dangote Group also alleged that the IOCs insisted on selling crude oil to its refinery through their foreign agents, saying the local price of crude oil will continue to increase because the trading arms offer cargoes at $2 to $4 per barrel, above Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission official price.
The group also alleged that the foreign oil producers seem to be prioritising Asian countries in selling the crude they produce in Nigeria.
The PUNCH reported last month that the Dangote refinery engaged in an exchange of words with the NUPRC over the alleged supply of 29 million barrels of crude oil to the refinery.
The Dangote Group had accused the NUPRC of failing to effectively enforce the domestic crude supply obligations regulations, saying the refinery had yet to get enough crude locally.
Reacting, the NUPRC debunked the claim, stating that it facilitated the supply of over 29 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote from January to June 2024.
The NUPRC argued that it had facilitated the domestic supply of crude oil to Dangote refinery and other refineries using the monthly production curtailment platform.
However, in a swift response, the company denied receiving 29 million barrels of crude from any source.
The president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has staunchly defended the Dangote Refinery, responding to growing concerns about low quality products and potential monopolistic tendency.
In a statement by Adesina, shared by billionaire businessman Femi Otedola on Tuesday via X, the AfDB boss was reacting to the ongoing controversy surrounding Dangote Refinery’s operations, noting that the recent outburst by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) chief executive, Adamu Farouk, against the Refinery and its founder was shocking and creating bad waves for Nigeria globally.
Adesina highlighted that monopolies often arise in industries with significant entry barriers or high capital costs, such as railways and large-scale refineries. He questioned the feasibility of competing with Dangote’s refinery, given the immense investment required.
“Monopoly often exists where there are high barriers to entry or high capital costs,” Adesina stated. “How many individuals or companies can do railways? How many can do refineries of the scale of Dangote Refineries? In a nation that has been importing refined petroleum products for several decades, the abnormal simply became very normal.”
Adesina emphasised the financial and operational challenges of manufacturing in Nigeria, particularly in an environment plagued by policy uncertainties and reversals. He pointed out that no prudent investor would risk a $19.5 billion investment only to be undermined by importers.
“To manufacture is extremely expensive and risky,” he said. “This is even more so in Nigeria, given the very challenging business and economic environment, fraught with policy uncertainties and policy reversals, and where the self-defeating default mode of ‘simply import it’ is always so easily rationalized and chorused to solve any problem.”
Addressing the notion of competition, Adesina argued that it is beneficial for everyone but questioned if Dangote Refineries could be deemed anti-competitive. He posed several questions: “Has Dangote Refineries prevented any other company from setting up refineries? Why have others not done so? How come they have not done so for several decades? Was it Dangote that held them back?”
Adesina further asserted that Dangote Refineries should not be expected to compete with importers of petroleum products. Instead, he urged importers to establish local refineries to foster fair competition within Nigeria.
“We cannot and must not undermine, disparage or kill local industries, talk less of one that is of this scale — a jewel of industrialisation in Nigeria,” Adesina said. “It is more than simply delivering the cheapest product to the market. It is about domestic supply security, driving (and yes, protecting) globally competitive industries, maximizing forward and backward linkages in the local economy, job creation, reducing forex expenses and shoring up the Naira.”
Adesina concluded with a caution against the negative implications of disparaging Dangote, highlighting the potential deterrent effect on future investments in Nigeria. “This whole disparaging of Dangote is uncalled for. It is self-defeating. And it is very bad for Nigeria. Who will want to come and invest in a country that disparages and undermines its own largest investor? Investing is tough. Pettiness is easy. It sadly sends a signal that the price for sacrificing for Nigeria is to get sacrificed.”
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