Nigerians are shocked by the claim that Dangote Refinery and other startup modular refiners produce substandard products compared to their international counterparts.

This controversial allegation came from no other than the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulation Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, on July 18, 2024. According to him: “Dangote refinery as well as some major refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650 to 1200 ppm. So, in terms of quality, their quality is much more inferior to the imported quality.”

The founder of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, quickly rebutted this claim, and said, rather, his refinery produces one of the highest quality products in the world. He invited the House of Representatives Petroleum (Downstream) Committee to witness a laboratory exhibition to prove his claims.

The Committee’s Chairman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, promised that the National Assembly will conduct a professional probe to establish the true situation and inform Nigerians.

The probe is very desirable because the Committee’s visit to Dangote’s refinery alone is not enough. Farouk’s utterances are very weighty. As the head of the refined petroleum products sector regulator, his words carry authority. It is the duty of his organisation to ensure that the upcoming refineries produce and supply products that meet the best standards for domestic and international consumption.

At the same time, he is obligated to help them overcome their teething problems to make Nigeria self-sufficient and a net exporter of these products in overall national interest.

Coming at a time it was becoming obvious even to the man on the street that Dangote and other refineries had run into serious politically-engineered, man-made challenges, Farouk’s assertion dashed the Nigerian people’s hope that the end of their sufferings was in sight.

Even if his assertions were true, there are better ways of handling the situation without appearing to brazenly undermine and de-market our domestic efforts.

For more than 30 years, Nigerians have bled dry from fuel products importation due to the collapse of the government refineries. We have spent billions of dollars and yet failed to revive them. Now that we are at the threshold of owning brand-new refineries, we expect the industry regulator to show patriotism and lead the efforts to defeat the oil mafia standing in the way of our nation’s progress.

The National Assembly should co-opt media and social advocacy groups as observers during the probe. If it is established that any Nigerian is complicit in sabotaging our effort to bounce back as an oil refining nation, such culprits should be prosecuted for economic sabotage.