An energy expert, Dan Kunle, has described the criticisms of some petroleum marketers in Nigeria against the activities of Dangote Refinery as cheap blackmail.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview with Arise News, Kunle observed that the operations in Nigeria’s oil sector had been shrouded in secrecy for many years, but with the advent of Dangote Refinery, light has been shed on the darkness.
He submitted that the $20 billion facility is a transformative project that has ended decades of inefficiency and import dependency.
Naija News reports the expert made the submission amidst the faceoff between Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)
He also criticised unions and petroleum marketers for failing to invest in domestic refining, accusing them of preferring endless negotiations while “Dangote has brought light from the heavens to the earth. Let there be light and there was light. The light has come now.”
Kunle added that the marketers should have mobilised resources and negotiated with the federal government to take over existing state-owned refineries instead of attacking a private individual who went all out to invest in the sector.
He accused the local importers of working against the national interest, saying they were importing inflation into the economy while Dangote had brought transparency and competitiveness to the sector.
“In the last two years we have been talking, talking, talking. That is the problem of Nigeria, talk, talk, talk, no action. They would have mobilised capital and negotiated with the federal government to sell the existing government-owned refineries to them. They didn’t do that. They now see clearly that the day has broken from darkness.”
“Dangote is offering carrots to the people of Nigeria. That man wants to offer scorpion to Nigeria. Scorpion or snake, whatever, venom, you call it,” he declared.
According to Kunle, there is no truth in claims that the refinery prioritises foreign markets, arguing that marketers had decades to build refineries but failed and should therefore desist from any attempt at blackmailing Dangote Refinery.
He said, “This small blackmail they want to bring, I call it cheap blackmail. Ask them, the one they are importing, why are they afraid that they are going to drop price? Why didn’t they also drop price? Let them also cut price now.”
He warned that continued attacks against the privately owned refinery may scare away other investors looking at investing in the sector and, inadvertently, reinforce Dangote’s dominance.
“If all this noise continues to distract Dangote refinery and new potential investors like Duan, it means they will reinforce the status of Dangote to be the single player because they have scared away all other investors. While they themselves are not investing, they have become an enemy of the state.”
On the rollout of 10,000 CNG-powered trucks, Kunle argued that infrastructure growth must evolve alongside development. He concluded by urging leadership to meet private sector efforts with infrastructure investment.
“Dangote is building roads more than anybody in this country, except federal government. If you roll out 10,000, that 10,000 will challenge us to build more roads. So it’s not a static thing. We must challenge President Tinubu to help us accelerate the economic reform of this country.”
“Where the private sector has made efforts in this regard, the government must ensure infrastructure development is priority to accommodate this new innovation,” he said.
The post NUPENG: Dangote Has Brought The Light, They Want To Use Cheap Blackmail Against The Refinery – Kunle appeared first on Naija News.
