Oil business is not the same as selling sugar, spaghetti, cement, or rice – Fani-Kayode tackles Dangote over Port Harcourt Refinery

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Nigerian Minister of Tourism, has come out strongly in defense of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) following criticism of the recent revival of the Port Harcourt Refinery. In a statement on his official X account, Fani-Kayode accused some private sector interests in the oil and gas industry of attempting to undermine the revitalization efforts of the refinery. He specifically took aim at Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Refinery, asserting that the oil business is not the same as selling everyday commodities like sugar or cement.

Fani-Kayode’s comments come in the wake of doubts raised over the viability of the Port Harcourt Refinery, especially after NNPCL announced on Tuesday that the refinery had begun producing and trucking out petroleum products. Critics, including Timothy Mgbere, Secretary of the Alesa community stakeholders, alleged on Arise Television that the refinery was only shipping out old stock, not newly refined products.

Responding to these claims, Fani-Kayode suggested that some figures in the private sector were behind efforts to discredit the NNPCL’s leadership, particularly Group Managing Director Mele Kyari, and President Bola Tinubu, over the refinery’s revival after years of inactivity. He emphasized that the successful restart of the Port Harcourt Refinery should be seen as a significant achievement for Nigeria.

He further stressed that what the country needed was for NNPCL’s refineries to thrive alongside Dangote’s refinery and others in the sector. “The resurrection of the PH refinery is one of the most encouraging things that has happened in the petroleum sector for many years,” Fani-Kayode said, adding that credit for the success should go to President Tinubu and Mele Kyari. He criticized attempts by certain private sector players to belittle the achievement, noting that the oil business cannot be monopolized in the same way as other industries like cement or sugar.

Fani-Kayode expressed confidence that NNPCL would continue to grow, with hopes that other refineries would also become operational. He called on Nigerians to support the NNPCL’s progress and to celebrate the efforts of Kyari, whose leadership had played a pivotal role in the refinery’s revival. “This is hope renewed for Nigerians,” he concluded, praising Kyari’s determination and vision in achieving this milestone.