BY SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) worldwide, a pan-Igbo socioeconomic pressure group, has urged the Federal Government to direct the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to supply Dangote Petroleum Refinery adequate crude.
The Chairman of NUF, Chief Augustine Chukwudum, made the call on Wednesday in Enugu while reacting to Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s move to start direct sales of refined Petroleum products in dollars.
It would be recalled that a top management official of the Dangote Group said that its refinery was receiving just four million barrels of crude oil monthly under the arrangement, instead of about 13 million barrels envisaged after President Bola Tinubu’s 2024 directive.
The refinery had attributed its decision to switch from naira-denominated fuel sales domestically to dollar transactions to the crude supply shortfall, saying it would also increase exports of refined petroleum products to earn foreign exchange.
Chukwudum called on the Federal Government to intervene urgently before things get out of hand and Nigerians suffer the more.
According to him, fuel price remains major determinant of prices of other commodities and services in the country as transport cost depends on.
“Things are bound to get worst if the Federal Government neglect to take immediate and decisive actions meant to better the life of the citizens.
“NUF is rasing this alarm because this administration is behaving as if they are not answerable to the people they are supposed to be serving.
“The Federal Government should direct NNPCL to supply all the crude oil needed by Dangote Refinery since the company has the capacity to meet local or domestic petroleum needs of the country.
“The government must stop all forms of fuel importation because that money been used for importation is a waste and put a pressure on our fragile foreign reserve as a nation,” he said.
The NUF boss noted that the refinery company must be allowed to pay in naira with this move, suffering of citizens would be curtailed.
Chukwudum also reiterated the call of the group for the Federal Government to set up judicial panel of inquiry to look into the account of NNPCL for some years now.
