Dangote Will Continue To Import US Crude With Leaders Like Lokpobiri

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

Since 2001 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed self the nation’s minister of petroleum resources, like a number of other awkward and inappropriate happenstances, Nigerians have adjusted themselves to some of these political ambivalences.

Perhaps, this explains the total silence that also greeted the decision of President Ahmed Tinubu to make himself Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum.

It is however not quite clear the qualifications the former Bayelsa Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) political stalwart, Heineken Lokpobiri possessed apart from being a former lawmaker that made the president appoint him minister of state for petroleum resources.

The duo has continued to supervise this critical economic industry, regarded as the nation’s economic mainstay the way they see fit; like the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) runs national news with the theatrics of unremitting absurdity.

Lokpobiri on Thursday May 23, 2024 while briefing the press on developments at the industry, especially about critical update with the Dangote Refinery, declared that the Federal Government has no knowledge that the refinery was importing its crude oil from the United States.

As the minister of state, it must be assumed that it is his responsibility to provide his boss with up-to-date, concise and accurate information about important developments within the industry and the ministry.

If it is a coincidence therefore, that Lokpobiri choose the occasion of his boss’one year in office to commit what amounts to a case of clear perjury, Nigerians must see it for it is, an unpardonable leadership incompetence and or, official deceit, flowing from otherwise customary leadership arrogance.

That the timing and the ridiculous verbiage merely exposes the president who is the de facto petroleum resources minister to ridicule and public opprobrium can hardly be excused.

It is even worse that the emphasis and attempts to rationalize our weak crude production and market mix graciously and freely given to Nigeria by God for our use and comfort appears more dishonourable under the circumstances.

This can only be excused by a political leadership that is self serving and not alive to its responsibility; and of course, co-travelers in charge of our weak governance system.

Despite making his submissions with a straight face, it is not hard to imagine that he must have looked ridiculous to discerning Nigerians and others with the benefit of common sense.

Lokpobiri who was speaking as one of the first ministers to arrive to present his ministerial scorecard, said:

“I’m not aware that Dangote Refinery has started importing crude oil from the US. That’s the reason why we’re talking about an increase in production.”

Then he pushed the matter to a rather ridiculous level when he spluttered, “That’s why we’re talking to servicing companies to come back and start drilling. The only way we can increase production is to continue drilling…”

He inadvertently admitted what Abuja and this government have gone to great efforts denying, that critical stakeholders were divesting and leaving the country in droves, like professionals in the healthcare sector have intensified the japa syndrome.

Reacting, a Nigerian wrote on the comment section of the report in one of the newspapers: “The government is so confused that they don’t know what is going on in the country…politician don’t read news at all.”

Yet another commented: “Am sure they are not aware of it. The only thing they are aware of is how to steal the peoples vote and damage the economy to keep people suffering.”

With leaders Like Lokpobiri, it is unlikely that this country will be able to marshal out any purposeful blueprint designed to implement a robust, sectoral recovery plan in the next seven years to turnaround the sorry state of our crude oil production and make it possible for   Dangote refinery and other upcoming modular refineries to enjoy local crude oil supply.

Today, let us not even consider ways and manner the Alhaji Aliko Dangote led Dangote Group, essentially, the Dangote Refinery has attempted to pull the wool over citizens eyes in relation to acclaim of his idealistic patriotism and how he has jumped ship at the slightest whiff of trouble.

Perhaps in subsequent edition, we may be minded to look closely at his patriotic credentials which is often flashed on our faces during business discussions like an ornament of enormous virtue. We should examine how much Dangote has gained from Nigeria and how much he has given back in return; both in concrete terms, fair and appropriate.

While analysts have explained the inevitability of the Dangote Refinery sourcing crude oil from the United States owing to a number of economic and production factors; profitability as the defining nexus cannot be wished away; and which for all intent and purposes appears to be the main reason the refinery was set up.

Despite that Abuja politicians have ‘worked out’ some cloudy equity share holding by the NNPCL in the wake of the sudden project financing disruption of the refinery about three years back;  dependence on US crude oil import cannot now stares everyone on the face; like a challenge that cannot be overcome soonest.

This is because as a serious country with serious citizens and a responsible political leadership that is readily held accountable, the US maintains the largest crude reserve with obvious first row competitive market edge. There is therefore no reason, theoretically, that Dangote Refinery will not forever be attracted by it, their competitive offer and other dynamics in global trade makes it impossible to ignore US crude.

While the US compete with other serious crude and gas producing nations like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, Brazil, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Russia and China amongst others in sustaining their production quota for domestic and export trade; Nigeria has remained asleep for two decades. This is despite having the largest crude reservoir in Africa, with four standard refineries to the bargain.

But our political leaders, majority of who are still alive, recline on their chairs and in the comfort of their offices and or residences, signed away our crude farms and refineries, through unspeakable political arrogance, criminal intellectual adventurism and official mental disorder laced with the rage of the corrupt persona.

Thus military leaders and their civilian counterparts apparently incapable of leadership and planning, signed away the citizens oil blocs to empty people like themselves, continue to sign away TAM of the refineries to strange character and individuals who are today richer than Nigeria.

It did not end there, they often hand over these refineries and support systems to people who lack the qualification to be engaged even at trainee lower entry cadre, to manage. That has been the reality of our tragedy.

Overtime, dissatisfaction led to steady pileup of frustration and disillusionment, resulting gradual decline in the collective efficient professional goal, lack of commitment, system defaults, internal sabotage, disengagement and angst; insurgency and insecurity.

Official claims to any strategic crude reserve in the past ten years is nothing therefore but mere propaganda, since combined reserve, both local and imported have struggled continually to meet minimum consumption demand.

Thus every statistics thrown up by the relevant departments, starting with the Bureau of Statistics that assigns any figure to any refinery, whether located in Warri, Port Harcourt, Kaduna or Onne remains but barefaced lies.

Our crude production monitoring, import, distribution and enforcement systems are deep in corruption and lack credible statistics that can support planning.

With cheaper US crude, Dangote Refinery will continue to lack that way, with the foreseeable negative implication on domestic price, which citizens will sooner wake up to embrace; since apart from the crude price, there are other overall production and marketing dynamics that defines global crude trading and its finished products.

While it is no longer news that for over two decades, Nigerians have not benefitted from this natural resource, it has also steadily fallen short of meeting its OPEC quota of 1.78 million bpd.

For a long time already, that corrupt political octopus, the NNPC has been importing petroleum products at a great cost despite four state owned refineries with a combined 445,000 bpd capacity lying dysfunctional and comatose.

Despite putting crude oil theft, estimated at 400,000 bpd, at some serious levels of check recently, there are signals that the corrupt system is farming vigorously to convince the presidency to open up the anti-crude theft security contract to more participants, obviously out to derail the little progress that has been made in fixing the challenge helping to restore Nigeria’s OPEC production imbalance.

Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engr. Melee Kyari recently disclosed that the cost of producing a barrel of crude in Nigeria is the highest in the world due to insecurity and other negative indices.

It is sad that there is no end in sight in our struggle to manage the production, lifting and distribution of own crude oil; with our estimated potential production capacity, believed to be constantly below mean average over a period of twenty years, now.

Neither does the future look promising in any way, since the country is saddled with the same sick personae whose only difference is their names or the part of the country they come from.

Amid this primitive acquisition of resources and corruption and greed of the elites, they have since devised using the law to protect themselves against the masses, and thus have perfected the act of undermining the citizens as they engage in the massive stealing of the commonwealth and in mismanaging the system through oppressive legislation and laws.

The most recent is the obnoxious Cybercrime Bullying law with which they confront and silent the media or anyone who make attempt to expose official corruption and evil in high places.