By Adeyinka Adeniran
A renowned security expert, Amb. Abayomi Mumuni has risen in defence of the Dangote refinery, insisting that the multi-billion-dollar facility is being unfairly portrayed as a monopolist when, in reality, it is the one under siege from entrenched cartels and vested interests in Nigeria’s oil sector.
In a statement signed by his Media Aide, Rasheed Abubakar, on Wednesday, Mumuni recalled that last year, major petroleum marketers, including the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), refused to patronize the refinery, fearing its transparent pricing system would expose inefficiencies and undermine their profits.
Instead, they continued to support importation in collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
Mumuni, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also pointed out that NNPC failed to honour its pledge to acquire a 20 percent equity stake in the refinery through crude oil supply.
“When Dangote begged for local crude, they refused. He had to turn to the U.S. and the Middle East for crude — in a country that produces oil.
“With limited support from the establishment, the refinery charted its own path. It partnered with MRS, owned by Sayyu Dantata, to retail its products and went further to acquire 4,000 tankers to distribute fuel directly to filling stations nationwide. This model includes free delivery, effectively bypassing traditional marketers”, he said.
The move, critics have described as monopolistic, but Mumuni insists they are defensive strategies, saying, “If you invested over $20 billion, most of it borrowed, would you sit idle and allow cartels to destroy your business?” he asked, noting that Dangote plans to expand his tanker fleet to 10,000.
To ease tensions, the refinery offered marketers a deal to buy in bulk — 500,000 litres cash purchase with an additional 500,000 litres on credit — but disputes persist. Marketers are now demanding Dangote’s tanker drivers join their union, a proposal firmly rejected by Sayyu Dantata at negotiations.
Beyond union opposition, Mumuni stressed that fuel distribution is plagued by extortion from security agencies.
“Between Olounda and Randa in Ogun State alone, there are over 50 checkpoints where tanker drivers are forced to part with cash or fuel. Dangote’s entry may finally break this cycle,” he said.
According to him, “having watched energy expert defending Dangote Refinery against criticisms from petroleum marketers, whom were described as the enemies of the state, I’m in agreement with his stance.
“These basically reflected more light to the lingering hard shoulders between the gladiators and Dangote Refinery. Because of the Free Trade Zone, the refinery is out of shore. This basically reflected that Dangote ferrying product to end users is more than a favor to the general public.
“I call on business oriented people to grab the opportunity to secure deals with the Dangote refinery, instead of the rat race,” he added.
