Nigerian lawmakers demand suspension of petroleum regulatory boss over comments on Dangote refinery

The House of Representatives has called for the suspension of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, over his comments on the quality of products from Dangote refinery.

This resolution followed a motion moved on Tuesday by Esosa Iyawe (LP, Edo) during plenary.

Mr Ahmed claimed diesel from the plant, as well as that from modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel, contains high sulphur levels.

Irked by the comments on the $19 billion plant owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the lawmakers resolved to investigate the claim. They requested that Mr Ahmed be suspended pending the conclusion of the investigation on the sulphur claim.

Dispute between Dangote and regulators

The Dangote Group and the petroleum regulators in Nigeria have been at loggerheads over the control of the petroleum downstream market in the past couple of months.

Last month, Devakumar Edwin, vice president of oil and gas at the Dangote Group, accused the NMDPRA of allowing marketers to import dirty fuel into the country.

Mr Ahmed responded with a claim that diesel from the plant, as well as that from modular refineries like Waltersmith and Aradel, contains high sulphur levels.

On Saturday, Mr Dangote debunked the claim during a tour of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Dangote Fertiliser Limited complex by members of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen Abbas.

In a subsequent statement, the company said the representatives observed the testing of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) from two petrol stations alongside Dangote Petroleum Refinery, praising the company for its significant investments and contributions to Nigeria’s development.

Mr Dangote later spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on his challenges with the regulators and further investment plans in Nigeria.

The Motion…

Moving the motion, Mr Iyawe said the House should investigate the allegations of high sulphur content made by Mr Ahmed against the position of the Dangote Group.

The lawmakers also stated that the House must investigate the allegation against the regulator for giving licenses to importers of dirty fuel.

“Allegations have been made that the NMDPRA was giving licences to some traders who regularly import high-sulphur content diesel into Nigeria, and using such products poses grave health risks and huge financial losses for Nigerians,” Mr Iyawe said.

He added that “the unguarded statements by the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, which have since been disproved, sparked outrage from Nigerians who tagged his undermining of local refineries and insistence on the continued importation of fuel an act of economic sabotage, as the imported products have been shown to contain high levels of dangerous compounds.”

The House did not debate the motion, but when it was put to a voice vote by Mr Tajudeen, members voted in support.

It was subsequently referred to the House Committee on Upstream and Downstream for further legislative action.