NNPC Cabals Allegedly Import Substandard Fuel with Fake Certificates from Malta, Says Dangote

Aliko Dangote, a prominent Nigerian billionaire and industrialist, has raised serious allegations against members of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). In a recent public speech, Dangote accused certain NNPC officials of establishing a petroleum refinery in Malta to import inferior fuel into Nigeria, using fraudulent certificates to disguise the substandard quality.

During his address, which was broadcast by Channels TV, Dangote stated, “Even at 650,000 bpm and 700,000 bpm that we are producing was a better quality than what was imported. And I am sure most of you will have problems with your vehicle because of the bad fuel that was imported into the country. I still stand by what I said. Go to filling stations, you can pick it up and check the quality. That is the only way. But all these people bringing in ships and fake certificates—some NNPC people and traders have opened a blending plant somewhere in Malta. We all know these areas, we know what they are doing.”

Dangote emphasized his commitment to exposing the truth, stating, “I have been fighting all my life. I am a very fearless person. I believe so much in God and I don’t fear anybody. They can do whatever they want. I am not scared; I will fight head-on.”

In response to the situation, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, convened a high-level meeting to address the challenges facing the Dangote Refinery in Lagos. The government considers this project crucial to the oil sector.

The meeting, as reported in a statement by Nneamaka Okafor, Special Adviser Media and Communication to the Minister, was attended by key stakeholders, including Aliko Dangote, Farouk Ahmed (Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority – NMDPRA), Gbenga Komolafe (Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission – NUPRC), and Mele Kyari (Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited – NNPCL).

The stakeholders expressed their gratitude to the Minister for his leadership and timely intervention in facilitating this crucial dialogue.

Earlier, the House of Representatives had called on the NMDPRA, Dangote, and oil marketers to refrain from making public accusations through the media. This followed concerns raised by NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed about the consistency and standardization of the Dangote Refinery’s output. Ahmed had previously claimed that the quality of Dangote Refinery products was inferior to imported ones.