Ezekwesili, who is enlightened enough to understand the contending issues, seems stuck on an old narrative.
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In a rather unusual position disguised as a call for “an independent audit of why the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited capped its investment in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery at 7.2 per cent instead of the planned 20 per cent,” Ezekwesili poured invectives on the NNPC Ltd. She claimed, through her official X handle, that she had earlier decided not to speak on the Dangote refinery.
To be sure, the former minister failed to address the pertinent issues; rather, she resorted to disparaging attacks against the NNPC and its leadership, deploying innuendoes and insinuations in an obvious gambit to demonise the company. That, for me, is the height of absurdity.
There was, along the line, a claim that NNPC borrowed $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund . From my findings, NNPC did not borrow for itself but had facilitated a loan of $1 billion for a stake in the Dangote Refinery, which the energy company, as gathered, paid straight to Dangote. The loan was backed by 35kbbls/day of crude and the loan had been fully settled in June 2024. This can be fact-checked.
In any case, I believe that NNPC is not afraid of a NEITI probe of the 7.2 per cent NNPC shares in the Dangote Refinery. As validation: NNPC has been a transparency partner with NEITI . I also believe that the Nigerian government will not fold its arms and watch any single business operator monopolise an essential commodity like petrol, while potentially putting Nigeria’s energy security at risk.
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