A former business leader has thrown his weight behind the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, arguing it could slash Nigeria’s annual fuel import bill by over N15 trillion and generate up to $11 billion in foreign exchange inflows. Dele Oye, ex-President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), made the bold claim on Wednesday, challenging the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to rethink its stance on fuel imports.
Oye, now Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics, stressed that the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility—Africa’s largest single-train refinery—can meet over 90% of Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs. He described the country’s N15.42 trillion spent on petrol imports in 2024 as a “drain on foreign reserves” and a “structural weakness” in the energy sector. By shifting to local refining, he said Nigeria could ease pressure on the naira, stabilize the economy, and export surplus petroleum products to global markets, including Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
The former Organized Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) chairman took aim at NNPC’s defense of fuel import licenses, calling it a “moral failure” that rewards foreign suppliers while punishing local industrial growth. “NNPC’s argument that restricting imports would create a monopoly is flawed,” Oye said in a statement. “It’s like penalizing the player who built the stadium while rewarding those who just show up to play.” He urged the government to enforce the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which prioritizes domestic refining, and to review import licensing to protect local investments.
Oye also demanded transparency in the rehabilitation of state-owned refineries, criticizing past turnaround maintenance expenditures as inefficient. He cited global examples from Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, and the US, where domestic refining is shielded by targeted policies. “Nigeria risks undermining its industrialization agenda if it continues to rely on imports despite having world-class capacity,” he added.
The call comes amid a legal tussle between NNPC and Dangote Refinery, with the state oil firm accusing the $20 billion facility of seeking a monopoly. Oye dismissed this as a distraction, insisting the refinery is a “sovereignty achievement” that deserves protective policies, not import competition. “President Tinubu’s agenda is about production over consumption, industrialization over importation,” he said. “NNPC must align or be reformed.”
