The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed its worries over the emerging and largely negative national and international debates and controversies on the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Industrial FZE (DPRPI).
The group, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof T A Muhammad -Baba, noted that “Dangote is a household name in Nigeria, Africa and indeed the whole world, with the brand’s various commercial enterprises providing products, services and employment opportunities in Nigeria and elsewhere.
“DPRPI is located at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, and is a world class, highly automated complex of a crude oil processing outfit, churning out several petroleum products and chemical fertilizer for the domestic and foreign markets.
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“That such a facility attracts controversy, envy and even sabotage from related industry or personal interests come as no surprise, as exemplified by the current unrelenting onslaught against DPRPI.”
The group however stated that, “It was the needless controversies on the DPRPI that buoyed a delegation of ACF to visit, on July 30th, 2024, the awe-inspiring complex in order to gain a first-hand knowledge of the facility.”
It added that, “During the visit, the ACF delegation was elated by the DPRPI complex and its vast array of sophisticated quality testing and control laboratories, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, designed to meet and even surpass global industry standards and compliance requirements (for example, as stipulated by US and European regulators).”
The ACF delegation emerged from the visit convinced that:
(i) the facility should in all fairness be a source of much national pride, as opposed to the vituperative tales, innuendos and questionable assertions, misinformation, etc., being bandied about, in the press and social media, against DPRPI.
“Aliko Dangote, initiator and promoter of DPRPI, has been an indisputable courageous, visionary and patriotic entrepreneur in Nigeria and Africa, worthy of commendation and support domestically and beyond.
“Thus, the misbegotten strategy of putting down DPRPI and Aliko Dangote is a great disincentive to domestic investors which also sends wrong signals to foreign investors.
“It is particularly distressing that some oil-related public and business entities like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) and other agencies in the sector seem to make themselves the impression of purveying dissemination and misinformation about the DPRPI.
“It is also most discomfiting but not surprising that there has emerged a thinly-veiled strategy to de-market DPRPI by international oil interests that are obviously uncomfortable at being challenged at their game by a Nigeria, African and, to boot, a black person at that.
“Therefore, ACF (a) strongly supports the on-going investigations by the National Assembly to establish the veracity of the claims and counterclaims about DPRPI. The investigations must accord fair hearing to all parties so as to reach amicable resolution of the claims and counterclaims on DPRPI. An unhampered and transparent investigation would allow all parties in the controversy to resolve differences; and this way DPRPI, on its part, will be of tremendous economic benefit to Nigeria; (b) welcomes the directive from Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), to sell crude oil to DPRPI and other petroleum refining entities. This is a praise-worthy development and evidence of foresight and good judgement; (c) calls on other entrepreneurs and investors to emulate the DPRPI initiative;(d) calls on public regulatory agencies to assist in facilitating the realisation of the dreams of all indigenous entrepreneurs wishing to invest in the industrial development of Nigeria; and(e) as it is becoming obvious that there is an international dimension in the efforts to ed-market DPRPI, the Nigerian Government, and indeed those of all other African nations, should marshal and deploy all diplomatic influence and other policy resources with which to refuse the attempts to blackmail and deny the rights to industrialize and develop our societies and emerge from the dark recesses of underdevelopment to which we have been cocooned for centuries.God bless the Federal Republic,” the statement added.
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