Atiku asks Nigerians to take resolute actions to defend Dangote refinery

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has called on Nigerians to rally against any attempts to sabotage the Dangote Refinery in the interest of the nation.

He made the call in a post on his X on Saturday, August 10, 2024, where he also condemned the plot to impede the progress of the 20 billion dollar refinery by some internal and external forces.

Atiku urged Nigerians to thwart any plan being hatched by the two forces aimed at preventing the country from benefiting from the refinery.

“Each parent eagerly awaiting the arrival of a child will dutifully undertake the necessary measures to ensure that the nurturing and development of this precious blessing remain a primary focus. This fundamental principle applies equally to investments, whether they be local or international in nature.

“With this understanding, I am cautious in considering any deliberate attempts to impede the progress of the Dangote Refinery, a significant private sector project positioned to meet our energy and forex needs.

“Alongside numerous fellow citizens of goodwill, I call upon all Nigerians to take resolute actions to provide reassurance that both internal and external forces are not collaborating to prevent us from reaping the benefits promised by this eagerly anticipated transformative endeavour,” he wrote on the bird app.

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Dangote debunks NUPRC claim over crude oil supply

Atiku's call comes on the heels of a disagreement between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) over crude oil supply to the facility.

NUPRC claimed to have facilitated 26 million barrels of crude oil allocation to Dangote Refinery in the first quarter of 2024 but the energy company countered the claim in a statement by its Group Chief, Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina.

“Aside from the term supply we bilaterally negotiated with NNPC, so far NUPRC has only facilitated the purchase of one crude cargo from a domestic producer. The rest of the cargoes we have processed were purchased from international traders,” the statement said.