There are many whispers and writings about your involvement with the Malta Refinery, the ownership of OANDO OIL company, and Agip Nigeria Limited. Tell the nation the truth, Mr. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. You owe that to your country and compatriots. An editorial in a foreign magazine has referred to your alleged involvement in the oil sector as shady.
By Abdu Labaran
Those in the corridors of power, many of whom are your ‘boys’—some are your personal friends, some are family friends and others who were just ‘powerful’ enough to gatecrash their way into your circle of ‘friends’—may advise you against levelling with your fellow countrymen. Do not heed them, because they are not thinking about you, but rather about what they might lose if the confession leads to them losing their privileged status.
But your supporters nationwide and beyond, most of whom never had the opportunity to see you in person, would be vindicated regardless of what the confession might lead to. The country and posterity would be the biggest beneficiaries, as it would mark the beginning of a time when a Nigerian leader clears the air over whatever allegations are leveled against him.
The allegations center on oil, from the production of its crude form to the transportation of the same to ‘your’ refinery in Malta, and the return of various categories of refined oil to the country for sale at filling stations in Nigeria. All of this is allegedly handled by a private company said to belong to you, for a very big payout at the end of the day.
A shadowy group that goes by the name ‘Anonymous NG @NXG,’ and a supporter of the ongoing ‘nationwide strike,’ commented on the oil imbroglio when one of its members saw the Malta Refinery: “Our group decided to investigate further. Our discovery was deeply shocking. First, I will break down the whole oil theft process and how the oil exporting and importing business works here in Nigeria.
NNPC grants importation licenses to a select group of oil companies responsible for importing petroleum products into the country. These companies set the prices for petroleum products, and the media often refer to them as ‘oil marketers.’
“We have another set responsible for exporting/selling unrefined petroleum products both locally and internationally. NNPC and a few partner companies play a major role in this sector, along with high-ranking government officials, military leaders, and politicians who are involved in oil theft.
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“To better understand this thread, I will briefly explain how oil exportation and importation work in Nigeria. Please note every point I list; you will need them as a reference as we progress: 1. Extraction: Oil is extracted from the ground using drilling rigs. 2. Processing: The crude oil is exported (internationally) to refineries where it is processed and stored for export back to the country. 3. Transportation: The processed oil is transported from the refinery to storage tanks, blending facilities, and ports, typically via pipelines or ships. 4. Export: At the port, the oil is loaded onto tankers or other vessels and shipped to Nigeria and other countries. 5. Sale: The oil is sold to buyers in Nigeria at a price set by the importer (oil marketer).
“The government subsidizes a significant portion of the oil price to make it more affordable for citizens, a practice known as a fuel subsidy. Now let’s link the list together. Recently, Oando PLC announced the approval to acquire 100% of Nigerian Agip Oil Company. This effectively means that the Tinubu family now owns Agip Oil, which is part of Eni S.p.A., an Italian multinational oil and gas company.
“Agip Oil operates 17 onshore oil blocks and produces 11 million barrels of oil and condensates annually. It also manages the Bonny natural gas liquefaction plant. One might wonder why such a successful company would divest 100% of such a critical asset. Observing similar situations, like the case with Dangote, suggests that this sale was not made lightly. Now, these crucial oil fields and plants in Nigeria are under the control of Tinubu through Oando PLC, which is Tinubu’s family-owned, not even NNPC.
“Continuing, with their control over substantial oil reserves in the Niger Delta and the ability to explore further through Agip Oil, their next step is refining. Instead of building a refinery in Nigeria, they opted to construct one in Malta. This move allows them to exploit the country’s resources and obscure their activities. In early 2021, Enemed Co Ltd, the leading fuel supplier in Malta, issued a tender for the leasing of storage tanks and a blending facility at the Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal in Malta. Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal Limited won the bidding. It is owned and operated by the Tinubu family, with Wale Tinubu, who is also the chairman of Oando PLC, serving as its chairman, along with other members of the Tinubu family and their associates.
“The company has already established a functioning refinery in Malta. They have now acquired the storage tanks and blending facility oil terminals, which were recently exposed to the public. After Tinubu was sworn in as president, his first major move was to announce the removal of the fuel subsidy while the government continued to pay in secret, allowing him to increase petroleum product prices. This move was designed to benefit his own monopoly.
“With the recent forced acquisition of Agip Oil by Oando PLC, Tinubu as an individual has become the largest oil exporter, explorer, and marketer in the whole country, second only to NNPC. Here’s the pattern: Tinubu, through NNPC, will sell Nigeria’s oil to himself at a low price via his company in Malta. He will also explore, extract, and export oil using his newly acquired Agip Oil Company, which operates across the Niger Delta states of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River. Tinubu will then buy back the refined oil from his company in Malta through NNPC and as an oil marketer via one of his companies, OVH Energy (Oando), at a higher price and export them back to Nigeria. The refined oil is sold to the Nigerian public at a high price, while the subsidy, although officially removed, is still being paid secretly. Essentially, Tinubu is paying himself a subsidy.”
The same allegation was made into a documentary and posted online in a video clip that went viral. The documentary, supported by many pictures, was narrated by someone with a foreign accent, probably a non-Nigerian.
The documentary ended as in the hard copy version, claiming that the scheme was “an extraordinary level of financial exploitation. Even after he leaves office, and Nigeria remains without a refinery—which he will make sure of—his oil monopoly over the country will remain standing. As if that is not enough, the government will still pay him for the subsidy! He sold over two billion dollars worth of petroleum products to Nigeria through the Malta refinery just in 2023 alone.
“That is an example of what the future of Nigerian oil importation will look like. That is why he will fight the Dangote refinery with everything he has because if it becomes operational, his multi-trillion-naira oil monopoly enterprise will collapse. The price of petroleum products, like fuel, will keep on skyrocketing.”
The allegations against you and your government started coming in when a Federal Government employee heading the Nigerian Downstream Authority, Faruk Ahmed, allegedly referred to Alhaji Aliko Dangote as a monopolist whose $20 billion (US) multi-purpose single-stream refinery was yet to be approved for commencement of operation, alleging also that the products produced by the refinery are of inferior quality. In addition, the notice of the current nationwide strike also appeared to ignite the raging allegations, which continue to come in torrents, just as the protest continues to rage in the country.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a Federal Government wholly-owned oil company, which oversees Faruk’s agency, was directly involved in the controversy by allegedly reneging on an earlier agreement it had made to own 20% of the Dangote single-stream refinery, with an estimated construction cost of $20 billion US dollars and the capacity to produce two hundred thousand (200,000) barrels per day. The Dangote refinery was seen as the solution to the perennial problem of the non-availability of petrol in the country.
So it came as a surprise when Umar Faruk, an employee of the federal government, started the fight, in which he is yet to be scathed, with the richest person of the black race under the watch of your administration.
In his defense, Faruk Ahmed alleged, in an interview with the Abuja-based Vision’s Farin Wata Television, that Alhaji Aliko Dangote wanted him to stop granting the license to lift crude oil to others but himself (the latter) alone. He also alleged that Dangote, by himself and through many people, visited him many times to thank him for his many assistance during the construction work on the completed refinery. He further claimed that the end products of the Dangote refinery had too much sulfur content, but laboratory analyses proved the claim wrong. When the analyses were conducted, it was discovered that the imported petroleum products had by far more sulfur at 1,800-2,000 ppm to the Dangote refinery’s 87.6 ppm.
Indeed, Mr. President may have heard of the time when a strong stench emanated from the imported fuel, forcing buyers to cover their noses whenever they went to petrol stations to fill up the tanks of their vehicles.
But the multi-purpose Dangote refinery, said to be the biggest of its kind in the world, enjoyed the support of all but the very rich, the ranking officials of NNPC and its agencies, as well as some powerful oil marketers who depend on the government for a regular supply of petroleum products. This support is not limited to the price at which they sell them, the quantity they make available to the market, or the billions of dollars they are given by the government as a subsidy to sell the products at a price the average Nigerian can afford.
It will be recalled that the last time the Dangote refinery came under attack, it was from a well-known insider in the power corridor during the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan. Just like now, the cause of the disagreement was the refusal of a petroleum minister to agree to the terms put forward by the Dangote management.
The argument was over the price of crude oil the NNPC should charge Aliko Dangote for crude oil supplied to his refinery, the price of petrol and diesel to be charged by Aliko Dangote to the NNPC, and the price of other crude oil end products from Dangote Refinery, including JET A1 aviation fuel, meant for sale in the international market. The Dangote refinery claimed that the government had reneged on its earlier agreement by refusing to discuss any of the items enumerated above.
Now, the tables have turned. The Dangote refinery is completed and has already started production and sales to the Nigerian market, just as other facilities, including fertilizer production, are ready for operation and already supplying the fertilizer to the Nigerian market, in addition to the excess exported.
As earlier mentioned, the time to speak out is now, Mr. President, as, just like everyone else, your tenure will one day come to an end. I am confident that you do not want to carry the burden of these serious allegations against your name and family beyond the time you are on the seat of power.
Labaran wrote from Katsina
