Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that the beneficiaries of fuel importation will likely frustrate the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Obasanjo stated, “Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria.” However, he expressed concerns about potential resistance, saying, “If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated.”
Mr. Obasanjo also criticized the manner in which President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy. Because of inflation, the subsidy that was removed is not gone. It has come back,” he said.
Highlighting the need for measures to boost investor confidence, he remarked, “You have to go from a transactional economy to a transformational economy.”
Reflecting on his own efforts during his presidency, Mr. Obasanjo recalled his attempt to involve Shell Plc in managing Nigeria’s refineries. “When I was president, I invited Shell, and I said, look, come and take equity participation and run our refineries for us. They refused. They said our refineries have not been well maintained. We have brought amateurs rather than bringing professionals. They said there’s too much corruption with the way our refinery is run and maintained. And they didn’t want to get involved in such a mess,” he explained.
Discussing the ongoing issues with government-run refineries, he added, “How many times have they told us that? And at what price? Those problems, as far as the government refineries are concerned, have never gone away. They have even increased. So if you have a problem like that and that problem is not removed then you aren’t going anywhere.”
