***Says Regime of Corruption by NNPCL Targeting Local Refineries

The Coalition of Energy Reforms Lawyers and Activists (CERLA) has accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of attempting to undermine Dangote Refinery’s efforts to address Nigeria’s energy crisis.

At a press conference, the coalition’s spokesperson, Okwa Dan, alleged that NNPCL spread falsehoods about Dangote Refinery’s pricing, claiming it sold PMS at N868 per liter.

Dan described this as a deliberate attempt to frustrate Dangote Refinery’s smooth operations and part of a larger regime of corruption aimed at frustrating local refineries and perpetuating fuel subsidy scams.

The coalition criticized NNPCL’s lack of transparency and accountability in crude oil management, citing its preference for importing substandard PMS from abroad.

This, they say, is fraudulent and counterproductive, benefiting only a select few.

Dan said: “The Coalition of Energy Reform Lawyers and Activists frowns at the despicable conduct of the NNPCL. It smacks of a mockery of the sincerity of the government towards addressing the energy challenges in the country.

“It also beats our imagination and discerning minds on why the NNPCL is bent on frustrating the operations of a wholly indigenous refinery in the country with the capacity to meet the daily needs of the citizens in the supply of PMS for local consumption.

“The preference by the NNPCL for the continued importation of substandard PMS from Malta and other locations around the world is fraudulent and counterproductive. It is indeed a regime to please a select few and to the detriment of sustainable growth and development in the country.

“The Mele Kyari-led NNPCL is indeed a disgrace and a clog in the wheels of progress in the country. It has over time constituted stumbling blocks in our quest for improved revenue earnings from crude oil sales and distribution. It has perpetuated a regime of astronomical fraud that has brought the country to its knees over the years.

“We find it difficult to understand why the NNPCL is uncomfortable with the smooth operations of a wholly indigenous organization that has made substantial investments in the country to address the energy challenges that have continued to eat deep into the revenue of the country through fraudulent practices.

“We wish to state that the NNPCL is an organization of heists. We also wonder why the NNPCL is the sole off-taker for PMS from the Dangote refinery. The implication is that the NNPCL still wants to perpetuate fraud in the pricing and distribution of PMS across the country. This much was evident in its hurried false statement that Dangote sold PMS at N868 per liter to it.

“It also failed to inform the general public that the current stock of crude procured by Dangote refinery was in dollars, hence the payment in dollars. The NNPCL went further to create an impression that the retail price of PMS is fixed by the Dangote refinery.

“The actions of the NNPCL imply that there is a subtle attempt to create an impression that the importation of PMS is cheaper than local production hence the falsehood that the Dangote refinery sold PMS at N868 per litre. This is so because the NNPCL is a beneficiary of the fuel subsidy scam that has impoverished the Nigerian people for decades.

“The NNPCL has refused to allow the local refineries to operate because of the fraud it is perpetuating in the importation of PMS into the country. Therefore, the operation of the Dangote refinery would bring to an end their fraudulent activities, which is essentially why they have been working against the operations of the Dangote refinery.

“It is obvious from all indications that the NNPCL is the albatross of the Nigerian people. Its operations have been opaque and shrouded in secrecy.

“It is thus obvious that the coming of the Dangote refinery has unsettled the Mele Kyari-led NNPCL, hence the recent drive to frustrate its smooth takeoff for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians. It remains a shame that Nigeria as an oil-producing country still relies on the importation of PMS from other countries while our refineries lay comatose.  “

The coalition questioned why NNPCL, led by Mele Kyari, is uncomfortable with Dangote Refinery’s operations, considering its substantial investments in addressing Nigeria’s energy challenges.

The group called on NNPCL to cease its “slander campaign” against Dangote Refinery, warning of potential legal action against NNPCL and the federal government.

The coalition emphasized that Nigerians have suffered enough due to NNPCL’s lack of transparency and accountability.

“We urge NNPCL to bring to a halt the slander campaign it has ferociously launched at the Dangote refinery,” Dan said.

“We wish to state that the elephant in the room is the lack of transparency and accountability in the affairs of NNPCL. Nigerians have suffered enough in the hands of the Mele Kyari-led NNPCL. Enough is enough. “