A coalition of unemployed youths has swelled the ranks of Nigerians and groups demanding the immediate sacking of Mr Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, over his role in the alleged sabotage of the Dangote Refinery.
At a press conference yesterday in Abuja, the youths led by Danesi Momoh, convener of the Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, wondered why the NMDPRA boss went out of his way to de-market the products of Dangote Refinery.
The group accused Ahmed of working in cahoots with powerful and unpatriotic oil and gas cartels that have consistently thwarted attempts to end the corrupt business of petroleum product importation and the associated racketeering.
The group said, “We are leading this struggle on behalf of the unemployed, who are the most directly endangered by this sinister enterprise. The NMDPRA has demonstrated its disdain for the establishment of local production.
“In doing so, it has overstepped its regulatory bounds, going as far as to undermine the products of Dangote Refinery. This is a blatant act of national economic sabotage that must be defeated. This is why his immediate sack and investigation have become inevitable. Mr President should act as a matter of urgency.
In fact, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be compelled, through this struggle, to take a stand – either with the people or with these monstrous cartels. We must allow a Nigerian investment of over $2 billion to be satisfied while millions of Nigerians are jobless and investors increasingly avoid our nation.
For clarity, we are not against importation. However, importers must compete with local producers. The idea of frustrating local refineries to allow import cartels to strangle the country cannot continue.
It is also shocking that after disparaging the capacity and quality of Dangote‘s petroleum products, Ahmed admitted that they have been exporting AGO and DPK, which he claims (without any prior report of pre-shipment inspection) to be inferior. The countries that received these products have not complained.
It is, therefore, shocking that our own regulatory authority‘s head makes these accusations. Nigerians should be aware that Farouk Ahmed has been entrenched in the oil industry for a long time. He is part of every instance of corruption that plagued the NNPC.“
The group noted that the Dangote Group, under the visionary leadership of Aliko Dangote, has continually set benchmarks for economic and industrial growth in Nigeria and Africa adding that with diversified interests spanning cement, sugar, salt, and pasta production, the Group has significantly contributed to job creation, infrastructure development, and national revenue generation.
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