Dangote Refinery: Olowu Kuta Oyelude Pleads For Caution

A foremost traditional ruler in Kuta, Osun State, Oba Adekunle Makama Oyelude, has appealed for caution in the handling of issues pertaining to Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.

The monarch, in a press statement personally signed by him, said he was impressed when the refinery was set up, because it is of more economic gain to the host community and the country at large.

“One can then imagine how excited I was when the news came out that the Dangote Refinery, construction of which started a decade ago and completed with $19 billion, would commence production at the end of the third quarter of 2022 and would reach full capacity in the first quarter of 2023.

“This unprecedented stride, to my senses, would reverse Nigeria’s reliance on other countries for petroleum supply. I read it that we import about 90 per cent of petroleum products we consume locally. I also read that Nigeria imported 11.3 billion dollars refined petroleum products in 2021 alone, making us the 18th largest importer of the products globally,” Oba Oyelude noted.

Oba Oyelude added, “I was more excited to realise that hundreds of jobless Nigerians, especially our agitating youths would be employed by the 65,000 barrel-per-day plant.

“I was engrossed in that state of ecstasy and indeed expectant of the implementation of that promise, when suddenly I began to see an alarming sign of a danger to that prospect.

“It first sounded like a joke and also appeared like a bad, protracted dream to me until I read that the date of the take-off had been shifted forward due to some logistics, particularly some grey areas that needed to be cleared with the sector regulatory authorities.”

The monarch, however, said that he was “practically down when I read a report alleging that the head of the Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, made a complaint over the quality of products from the refinery.

“The CEO was reported to have complained that the diesel produced by the refinery contains a very large amount of sulphur content which, according to him, is harmful to the vehicle engine, hence the continuous reliance on imported products with its predictable consequence on the young refinery.

“At this juncture, I am stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. However, as a royal father, who must not be fair only but must also be seen to be fair, I have the responsibility to call on the government to aid the nationalist objective for which the refinery was.”

Oba Oyelude also urged the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on his part, to be more open to further dialogue with the government through the NMDPRA in order to save his dream project and become operational.

“There is no doubting the fact that a number of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, have attached Aliko Dangote’s name to monopoly of our nation’s economy, allegedly using his proximity with successive administration to sustain his dominance of the economy evidently with his multi-sectoral investments, for instance, in cement, sugar and salt.

“I think with his current experience over this multibillion-dollar refinery, it is high time he reviewed that identity by complying with the demands of the government if only for the sake of national interest,” the traditional ruler stated.