By Rauf Oyewole
The Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC) has warned the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited against strangulating the much anticipated Dangote refinery product against the benefits of the masses.
A statement by the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola on Friday evening, said that a fact-finding visit to Dangote Refinery by a 17-man team of MURIC on Thursday, the human rights organization has urged the Federal Government to give the refinery a free hand to operate and protect it from strangulation.
According to MURIC, the masses have placed their hope in the likelihood of a drastic fall in the price of petroleum products once the Dangote Refinery starts functioning and in the face of the devastating blow delivered by the NNPC by suddenly raising the price of its fuel and banning Dangote Refinery from supplying any other marketer except NNPC, “we, the MURIC, concerned for the plight of poor Nigerians, went on a fact-finding mission to Dangote refinery.
“Seventeen members of our organization visited the newly completed Dangote Refinery at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State. Authorities of the refinery granted our request to enter the premises on self-recognition. The visit took place yesterday, Thursday, 5th September, 2024.
"Although full details of our findings will be disclosed in a press conference to be addressed very soon, we are constrained to issue an advance statement as a precursor to the press conference.
"Nigerians are going through severe hardship. There is hunger in the land. Inflation has made life difficult for many particularly after the removal of fuel subsidy which shot the price of petrol to the rooftop. But Nigerians were assured of coming relief as they were told that the price of petrol will reduce drastically when Dangote Refinery starts to function.
"But we were shocked to our marrows when NNPC suddenly announced an upward review of petrol from N617 to N897.”
The organisation said that NNPC worsened the situation by making itself the only marketer of Dangote fuel thereby sandwiching the latter's product. By taking these two actions,MURIC said that the NNPC has effectively taken control of Dangote's fuel and the real owner cannot determine the price of its own product. “This is an ambush, a punch below the belt,” MURIC said.
It said that If NNPC had not increased the price of its own fuel, the decision to monopolise Dangote's fuel would have favoured the hoi polloi, but by increasing the price and restricting the supply of Dangote's fuel to itself alone, NNPC has rendered Dangote Refinery helpless.
"MURIC finds NNPC's actions to be anti-people, immoral and lacking in conscience. It is an open secret that the prices of most products, particularly food items, are tied to the umbilical cords of petroleum and its price. The latter is the engine room that moves the economy.
"There is also no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians are hungry today because the price of petrol skyrocketed and the prices of foodstuffs rose astronomically and spontaneously.
"Nigerians became hungry and justifiably angry. Protests erupted North and South of the country. MURIC was among the patriotic groups that appealed to Nigerians to simmer down. Nigerians were told that the price of petrol would crash when Dangote Refinery comes on board.
"But NNPC has shattered the hope of the jamaahiir (masses) by raising the price of petrol and disallowing other marketers from buying from Dangote Refinery. This is against the spirit of a free economy. It contravenes the natural law of justice. It is not fair. What was the contribution of NNPC to the new refinery? How can NNPC suddenly take full control of Dangote Refinery, the hope of the masses to whose process it contributed virtually nothing?
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