A group, De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, has threatened to drag Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited and the Lagos State Government to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission if they do not provide the details of the $100 million said to have been paid for the acquisition of 7,000 hectares of land in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State for the refinery site.
It gave a seven-day ultimatum in a letter dated July 29, 2024, addressed to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The letter followed the revelation by the Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited and owner of the refinery, Aliko Dangote, that he paid $100 million to acquire the land for the project.
Reacting to the statement by Dangote in a letter jointly signed by its President, Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele, and Secretary General, Yomi Tokosi, De Renaissance Patriots Foundation requested for clarification on the payment.
The letter, titled: “URGENT REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON THE ALLEGED CLAIM OF PURCHASE OF ABOUT 7000 ACRES OF LAND BY THE DANGOTE REFINERY FROM THE LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT,” demanded: “We are members of the De RENNAISASANCE PATRIOTS FOUNDATION, an organization whose Objectives includes amongst others enhancing, promoting and advocating a better social order for the indigenes of Lagos State. We also encourage preserving Indigenous Culture, and the use of indigenous languages while further advocating for the inclusion of Lagos Indigenes in Power and general economic and socio economic development of Lagos State at large.
“Alhaji Aliko Dangote on the 21st day of July, 2024 claimed in one of his broadcasts that he purchased the about 7000 Acres of land he used for his refinery from Lagos State Government and that he purchased the land for 100,000,000:00 (One Hundred Million) USD.
“De RENNAISANCE PATRIOTS FOUNDATION is bewildered on why the notice of the purchase was not brought to the attention of government and how the money was expended without the members of the public being carried along or benefitting from it particularly the host communities in Ibeju-Lekki.
“As at press time, communities in Ibeju-Lekki were not known to have been paid compensation or provided with basic social amenities from the alleged 100,000,000:00USD (One Hundred Million United States Dollars) as claimed by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
“On the basis of the foregoing, we hereby demand information of the allegation and detailed information on how the money was expended and the account that was used to receive the money.
“Sir, Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 provides that;
Where information is applied for under this Act, the public institution to which the application is made shall, subject to sections 6, 7, and 8 of this Act within (7) days after the application is received make the information available to the Applicant.
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“Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 provides as follows; (1)
Where the government or public institution fails to give access to a record or information applied for under this Act, or a part thereof, the institution shall state in the notice given to the Applicant the grounds for the refusal, the specific provision of this Act that it relates to and that the applicant has a right to challenge the decision refusing access and have it reviewed by a court.
“(4) Where the government or public institution fails to give access to information or record applied for under this Act or part thereof within the time set out in this Act, the institution shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have refused to give access.”
