Dangote Refinery Can’t Solve All Our Energy Crises
By Rabi Ummi Umar
Nigerians have had their fair share of suffering. Rising food prices, increased transportation costs, erratic electricity tariffs, and the recent, ridiculous increment in petrol prices and its scarcity have affected everyone.
With inflation currently standing at 33.40%, and the naira weakened by the country’s over-dependence on imported goods and services, more citizens are being plunged into multidimensional poverty. Many believe the middle class in our beloved nation is gradually disappearing.
There has been a rollercoaster of events surrounding the cost of living. From the wounds of the August 1 to 10 #EndBadGovernance protests, which are still healing, to the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) calling for a massive shutdown of major cities due to persistent hunger, the country’s economic troubles persist.
Amidst these challenges, there has been heightened anticipation around Dangote’s largest single-train refinery. The refinery’s test run on August 23rd and its eventual, official rollout of petrol on September 3rd have dominated national discourse. Confusion reigns over whether the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited will be the sole distributor of the product, or possibly the price determinant.
Through it all, Nigerians have stood side-by-side with the business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and his $20 billion refinery. The reason was simple: the facility’s production was expected to end fuel scarcity, ensure availability, and provide some answers to our foreign exchange crisis, hence bringing relief to Nigeria and Nigerians.
After much anticipation, the refinery finally reached its promised land, with nationwide distribution set to begin on Sunday, September 15. But to the astonishment of the masses, the NNPCL announced that it had bought petrol from the refinery at N898 per liter.
Hours later, the Dangote Group countered NNPCL’s claim, with a statement from their Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, describing the announcement as “misleading, mischievous, and a deliberate attempt to subvert the company’s efforts to make Nigeria energy-sufficient.”
However, just this morning, NNPCL doubled down, releasing estimated pump prices of fuel from the Dangote Refinery across Nigeria, “confirming” that it bought the fuel at N898 per liter and “estimating” that the product would be sold for N950 per liter in Lagos, with prices higher in other parts of the country.
“Dangote fuel will be sold for N1,019 per liter in Borno, N999 per liter in Kaduna, N992 per liter in Abuja, N980 per liter in Rivers, N960 per liter in Oyo, and N950 per liter in Lagos,” the statement partly read.
After these developments, the glimmer of hope Nigerians had about experiencing relief following the refinery’s rollout appears to have been dashed. The refinery may not solve all our problems after all; it might actually exacerbate them.
It is not giving signs of relief yet. Should we brace ourselves and accept this new change? Should we embrace this as our new reality? Where do we go from here? One thing is certain: Nigerians are watching closely, hoping that their long-awaited respite from hardship will not be another broken promise.
Rabi Ummi Umar is an intern at PRNigeria and a student of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin. She can be reached via: [email protected]
