The Olowu of Kuta in Osun State, Oba Adekunle Oyelude, has cautioned the Federal Government against adopting unfriendly policies that may discourage investors, amid the ongoing dispute with Dangote Refinery.
He appealed for a peaceful resolution to the issue, emphasizing the need to protect Dangote’s investment and Nigerian consumers.
In a statement issued in Osogbo, Osun State, the monarch encouraged President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to remain open to dialogue with the government through the Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. This, he believes, will help iron out areas of disagreement and foster a mutually beneficial outcome.
Oba Oyelude’s plea comes after the head of the Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, reportedly expressed concerns about the quality of products.
The monarch stressed the importance of continued dialogue to resolve the dispute and ensure a positive outcome for all parties involved.
“Nigeria, our great nation, emerging as the highest private petroleum exporter in Africa, is not a status and prestige we should throw out of the window. I, therefore, crave the understanding of President Bola Tinubu on this, for the feat will certainly add to the profile of his administration as one through which Nigeria attained that enviable height among the comity of nations.
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“This administration can not afford to be seen as putting before prospective investors, unfriendly policies to discourage them from looking at the direction of the country for enterprises that could create jobs for the yawning youths.
“President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on his part, should be more open to further dialogue with the government through the NMDPRA in order to save his dream project from this seemingly impasse,” Olowu said.
According to him, Nigerians have attached “Aliko Dangote’s name to a monopoly of the nation’s economy, allegedly using his proximity with successive administration to sustain his dominance of the economy evidently with his multi-sectoral investments, for instance, in cement, sugar and salt.”
Going by the current experience Oyelude advised Dangote to review “… by complying with the demands of the government if only for the sake of national interest.
“To my understanding of elementary finance, it makes no economic sense for an investor of that magnitude to be operating below his investment capacity level as the refinery is, unfortunately, experiencing the disappointment and indeed pains of those of us who had seen a bigger picture of the project that, we had hoped and still believe, would end the perennial fuel crisis the nation has endured for about 50 years.”
