THE Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has called for an independent audit of the business transactions between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Dangote Refinery.
This is coming after Aliko Dangote, CEO of the Dangote Group and owner of the Dangote Refinery, revealed last week that NNPCL’s equity in the refinery is capped at 7.2 percent instead of the speculated 20 percent.
Dangote explained that, “The agreement was actually 20 percent with NNPC, but they did not pay the balance up till last year.
“We gave them an extension until June 2024, and they decided to stick with their 7.2 percent investment.”
NNPC also confirmed that it chose not to invest further in the refinery.
Responding to the situation, Ezekwesili, via her official X handle, stated that she had initially refrained from commenting on the Dangote refinery-NNPC saga.
However, she now believes that the emerging details suggest something dubious that needs thorough investigation for public accountability.
“How can a project of such national significance be embroiled in this level of controversy?” Ezekwesili questioned.
She also recalled that the Nigerian government claimed to have borrowed $3.3 billion from Afreximbank to invest in the Dangote refinery.
Ezekwesili highlighted that during her tenure in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, she advised NNPC against operating as an independent entity within the federation.
She cited the establishment of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) as a measure to ensure transparency in the oil and minerals sector.
She urged President Bola Tinubu to leverage NEITI to conduct an independent audit of the Dangote refinery-NNPC transactions to clarify the situation.
Dangote had also alleged that some top officials of the NNPCL own blending plants in Malta.
He said, “Some of the terminals, some of the NNPC people, and some traders have opened blending plants somewhere off Malta. We all know these areas. We know what they are doing.”
Reacting to this in a post on his X handle, Kyari said he had been inundated with calls from family members and friends, asking if he truly owns a blending plant in Malta.
Kyari however denied the allegation.
The NNPC chairman said he does not own or operate any business directly or by proxy anywhere in the world, except for a local mini-agric venture.