The member representing Anambra East and West federal constituency within the Home of Representatives, Hon. Peter Aniekwe, has warned the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm Restricted (NNPCL) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to cease what he referred to as ‘lies and rumours’ being peddled towards the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Firm.
In line with the lawmaker, the non-public firm is a nationwide asset, which ought to be relatively protected and promoted by the nation’s authorities and never disparaged by establishments resembling NNPCL and NMDPRA.
Aniekwe, in a press release issued in Abuja over weekend, faulted NMDPRA’s allegations that the Dangote Refinery was producing inferior merchandise in comparison with imported ones.
The lawmaker carpeted the Chief Government Officer of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, who made the declare and additional acknowledged that the standard of diesel produced by Dangote Refinery was 665ppm, which he thought-about inferior.
However, the lawmaker mentioned it was fairly disheartening that the CEO of NMDPRA, who’s paid by taxpayers cash, will likely be allotting tissues of lies on an indigenous refinery owned by foremost Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote which holds potential for addressing the nation’s challenges within the petroleum sector.
Hon. Aniekwe recalled how Ahmed mentioned: “The Dangote refinery continues to be within the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licenced but. We haven’t licenced them but. They’re nonetheless in pre-commissioning stage. I believe they’re about 45 per cent accomplished, in completion relatively.
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“So we can’t rely closely on one refinery to feed the nation, as a result of Dangote is requesting that we should always droop or cease all importation of petroleum merchandise, particularly AGO (diesel) and jet gas, and direct all entrepreneurs to the refinery.
“So, by way of high quality, at the moment…Dangote refinery in addition to some main refineries like Waltersmith refinery, produce between 650ppm to 1,200 ppm. So, by way of high quality, their high quality is way inferior to the imported high quality.”
The lawmaker, nonetheless, mentioned that it was spectacular that: “Dangote referred to as for a check of their merchandise, which was supervised by Members of the Home of Representatives and it was revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a Sulphur content material of 87.6 ppm (elements per million), whereas the opposite two samples diesel imported confirmed Sulphur ranges exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively rendering the allegations made by the NMDPRA boss baseless.”
Hon. Peter Aniekwe additional berated NNPCL for its failure to speculate and deny Dangote Refinery, saying it was laughable that: “Whereas the Federal authorities of Nigeria subscribed 20% shares in Dangote Refinery, the Chairman (Dangote) revealed that Nigeria was unable to redeem its obligation and now owns 7.2% by way of NNPCL.
Whereas declaring that the alleged gang-up by each the NNPCL and NMDPRA will fail, he mentioned: “Dangote Refinery, with a capability of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) is believed to be Africa’s largest refinery, and the World’s seventh largest by capability, and its building was supposed to assuage the petroleum merchandise wants and accompanying pains confronted by Nigerians.”
