Bola Tinubu And Our Oil Sector. By Ochereome Nnanna.
3 min read
The #EndBadGovernment protests largely flopped partially because they demanded for the restoration of the petrol subsidy. In life, better be careful what you wish for because it might actually come true!
If for any reason President Bola Tinubu acceded to this demand, the engine of his government would knock. Petrol is selling between N640 and N800 per litre, and it is still scarce. Imagine returning it to N180? All petrol stations will close shop, and we will be buying at the black market between N1,500 and N2,000 per litre. The train has left the subsidy station, and it will never come back.
We should be looking at the next best thing: full activation of Nigeria’s indigenous refining capacity. Nigeria is at the threshold of this historic achievement, far more than she ever was in 2011 when former President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to remove subsidy amidst 100 per cent import dependency. At that time, one of Organised Labour’s conditionalities before accepting full deregulation of the downstream sector was that our refineries must first be reactivated. Otherwise, Nigerians would be abandoned at the mercy of fuel import sharks.
Today, Nigeria is on the verge of exiting fuel importation. All the four government refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are on course for reopening for full operations, as we keep hearing. More importantly, the Dangote Refinery, one of the largest of its type in the world, will go into full capacity operation in a matter of days. We also have other upstart modular refineries in Owerri and Port Harcourt, awaiting crude supply from the NNPCL.
President Tinubu recently ordered the NNPCL to supply all these facilities with adequate crude oil at our Naira rate. The pressure of activists should be on the president, who doubles as Petroleum Minister, to sign an agreement with these domestic refiners. They should be supplied crude at a concessionary rate that will enable them sell to the domestic market at an affordable price. Nigerians will welcome petrol price of N250-N300 per litre with jubilation. We have the oil, and we have the refineries. They can export at international prices. This is the good government we are clamouring for.
Cheaper fuels will not be a mere Father Christmas gesture. It will be a major production bailout. It will send idle hands back to work and give value to the Naira. It will reduce criminality and make people feel better about their country and government. After more than 30 years of starving Nigerians of locally-refined petroleum products and squeezing their pockets, we deserve a break, a breather.
But, are we going to get it? Why is it that, two weeks after Tinubu ordered NNPCL to supply crude to the refineries and in Naira, Dangote is still complaining of noncompliance? Secondly, the supply in Naira without addressing the need to subsidise the crude for domestic supply of refined products will not address the astronomical cost of fuels. It only eases the foreign exchange headache of the refiners without addressing the pockets of the consumers. There is little in it for the people.
Most importantly, what is the truth behind the “Malta refinery” rumour? Aliko Dangote accused “some NNPC people and some traders” of owning blending plants in Malta. The name of Tinubu’s family was also dragged into the controversy. A company they have an interest in, Oando, recently denied the allegation that it is a shareholder in oil blending plant, Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Ltd, in Malta.
The inability of Dangote and others to commence full operation, including the refusal of NNPCL to supply them with crude since their completion are things Nigerians cannot explain. Are there people within the power structure of the industry whose personal interests will be hurt by Nigeria’s re-emergence as a net exporter of refined oil products?
It is the duty of President Tinubu to put Nigeria first and remove those obstacles. He must constantly and transparently demonstrate to Nigerians that his family’s interests are not placed above those of Nigeria in the oil sector which he rules. He must not be seen as the problem in our oil sector. That will not endear him to the people.
*Nnanna is a commentator on public issues.
