Business
Oil Producing Communities Group threatens to seal all Oil pipeline facilities over poor treatment of Dangote, other Modular Refineries
…Warn IOCs against economic sabotage
…Urge FG to end fuel, diesel importation
The Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM), over the weekend, threatened to renew agitation for greater autonomy and control of their natural resources, if the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) fail to sell and supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local Refineries, in their bid to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in local production of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and diesel.
The Group, comprising all the states producing oil and gas in Nigeria, lamented that despite the billions of dollars spent on turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries, the country remains reliant on importing refined products. This persistent issue, it argues, highlights the widespread corruption within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, allegedly orchestrated by influential cabals who are intent on maintaining the status quo of exporting crude oil while importing refined petroleum products. HOSTCOM warned that it will not hesitate to publicly name these identified cabals if necessary.
The National President of HOSTCOM, Dr. Benjamin Tamaramiebi, accompanied by his executives and traditional rulers from the Niger Delta region, toured the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and the Dangote Fertiliser Limited complex. Notable traditional rulers included the Chairman of the Niger Delta Monarchs Forum, HRM Frank Okorakpo; Deputy Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), HRM Obafemi Ogaro; and Egbesuwei Gbanraun X Agadagba Pere, HRM (Capt) Frank Okiakpe, among others
After the tour, the National President, Dr. Tamaramiebi said: “Our visit today to the largest and magnificent 650,000 bpd private Refinery in Africa (Dangote Refinery) has opened our eyes to several ills, particularly to the monumental corruption going on in the Nigeria oil and gas industry.”
“It is obvious why the existing Federal Government Refinery in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna can never work or operate maximally despite the billions of dollars spent on the so-called Turn Around Maintenance over the years. It is now clear that some persons in government and outside government have been identified as the cabal holding Nigeria oil sector by the jugular. We have identified them, and we shall reveal their names to the people of Nigeria if this trend continues,” he said.
While emphasising on the need for Nigeria to refine its crude locally, HOSTCOM urged the Federal Government to back the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and other domestic refineries to end the nation’s persistent reliance on imported petrol, diesel, and other refined products.
The Group’s President also called for nationwide support for Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other modular refineries to eliminate the need for imported refined products. It expressed gratitude to the National Assembly and Nigerians but warned against any sabotage that could hinder the country’s progress towards self-sufficiency in refined products.
“We are grateful to the 10th National Assembly, good-spirited individuals and associations who have been rallying support for Aliko Dangote. We at HOSTCOM have come today to drum up support for Dangote Refinery. We will stand with Dangote to put an end to continuous importation of less quality and costly refined petroleum products into Nigeria,” stated the group.
HOSTCOM, which emphasised that every Nigerian’s aspiration is for the country to refine its own crude oil for the benefit of its people, warned that any individual who opposes this national desire will face the wrath of the masses.
The group also lampooned the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, over his recent statement that the government would not halt the importation of refined petroleum products. HOSTCOM called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove Ahmed from his position, arguing that his previous associations with key players in the sector make him unfit to effectively regulate the downstream industry.
“We unequivocally call for the immediate sack of Farouk Ahmed. It is now clear that he as the CEO of NMDPRA is responsible for issuing import licences to his cronies outside the government to continue to import sub-standard refined petroleum products into the country. This is not surprising given that he has served on the boards of some downstream companies in the past. He is therefore obviously conflicted and incapable of performing the duties of a regulator for the downstream sector. It is important to immediately replace him with an individual who is not encumbered by such conflict,” the group added.
The group praised the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote for his patriotism in investing in and constructing the refinery in Nigeria, noting that his endeavour has significantly contributed to the country’s economic growth and development. It emphasised that the refinery is crucial in providing local solutions to Nigeria’s refining needs, thereby reducing the nation’s dependency on imported refined petroleum products.
The group urged President Tinubu to support the project, highlighting that it will enhance the economy, create thousands of jobs, ensure the sustainability and affordability of products, and bring substantial benefits to the host communities, among other positive effects.
“We called on President Bola Tinubu to support and sustain this refinery which is in his own state. He must do away with the cabals holding the oil sector to ransom,” it added.
The group further asserted that the President must not tolerate the economic sabotage being carried out by the IOCs operating in Nigeria, which have refused to sell crude oil to the Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries. They condemned this as an affront to the Nigerian people and a deliberate attempt to undermine the President’s renewed hope agenda, which aims to revive the economy.
“We call on Mr. President to direct NNPC or NNPCL to compel the IOCs operating in our communities to sell and supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local Refineries in line with section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act PIA 2021 particularly section 109(4)(b) which states that “the supply of crude oil shall be commercially negotiated between the lessee and the crude oil refining licensee, having regard to the prevailing international market price for similar grades of crude oil,” it added.
It also pointed out that, despite the PIA, the IOCs continue to lack transparency and accountability, alleging ongoing exploitation of oil-producing communities. The group warned that if the IOCs fail to supply crude oil to domestic refineries, host communities will be forced to take decisive action.
The Vice President (Oil & Gas) at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, who hosted the delegates, explained that the refinery was established primarily to source and refine local crudes for the benefit of Nigeria, while also exporting excess production to boost the economy.
Edwin noted that the lack of sufficient Nigerian crude supplies has necessitated importing crude from other countries and continents. He said that if the refinery had not been designed to process a wide range of crudes, including various African and Middle Eastern crudes as well as US Light Tight Oil, it would have become inactive due to the lack of Nigerian crude supplies.
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
celebrity radar - gossips
Nationwide Talent, One Broadcaster: Tinubu Picks Pedro, Bello, Din, Mohammed to Lead NTA
-
society5 months agoRamadan Relief: Matawalle Distributes Over ₦1 Billion to Support 2.5 Million Zamfara Residents
-
Politics2 months agoNigeria Is Not His Estate: Wike’s 2,000‑Hectare Scandal Must Shake Us Awake
-
society4 months agoBroken Promises and Broken Backs: The ₦70,000 Minimum Wage Law and the Betrayal of Nigerian Workers
-
society3 months agoOGUN INVESTS OVER ₦2.25 BILLION TO BOOST AQUACULTURE