Oil cabals crippled govt refineries, now working against Dangote Refinery: Pas. Adeboye

*Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God urges Nigerians to pray for divine intervention in the face of efforts by unscrupulous oil marketers at frustrating the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in the downstream petroleum sector of the country’s economy

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer (GO) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has urged Nigerians to pray for divine intervention in the face of efforts by unscrupulous oil marketers at frustrating the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, following the previous sabotage of the country’s four oil refineries.

Adeboye made the call for nationwide prayers during the November 2024 Abuja Special Holy Ghost Service, with the theme, “Total Restoration”, which held in the FCT

Dangote Group, in a statement Tuesday, November 12, 2024, said though the respected clergyman did not explicitly name the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Pastor Adeboye’s remarks echoed the ongoing attempts by oil marketers to prevent the refinery from functioning as it was designed to.

The Dangote Refinery, based in Ibeju-Lekki, in Lagos State, is the only facility currently refining petrol in Nigeria, and Adeboye’s comments reflected the dispute between the refinery and oil marketers, who seek to continue importing fuel for personal gain, noted the statement.

The cleric further reminded the congregation that it was God who raised Aliko Dangote to establish a refinery after years of failed attempts to revive Nigeria’s four public refineries, which had consumed billions of Naira with little result.

He as well questioned the persistence of fuel imports despite Nigeria’s status as a major crude oil producer.

Adeboye quipped: “Are we under a curse? We have four refineries, we poured all kinds of money into them, none of them is working.

“But God raised someone to build a refinery that works. He is not my relative, he is not from my village.”

The pastor stated: “He is not even a Christian, but he is a Nigerian who says, ‘Why should my people suffer when I have the means to build a refinery that can work?’

“Now he is refining petrol, and some people want to stop him from selling it, so they can keep importing.”

Adeboye also pointed out the damage caused by the fuel subsidy, describing it as a significant drain on Nigeria’s resources, contributing to the country’s mounting debts and corruption.

He stressed that when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the end of the subsidy in 2023, Nigerians largely welcomed the decision, but oil marketers, who benefitted from the subsidy regime, were furious.

According to him, these marketers have formed alliances with some International Oil Companies (IOCs), and other powerful interests to obstruct the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

He said this move includes restricting access to crude oil, forcing Dangote to import crude from countries like the United States, among others.

Pastor Adeboye, therefore, called for prayer for the total restoration of the country, noting that the Nigerian people are suffering the consequences, as the prices of essential goods have soared, pushing many items beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.

“The masses are the ones suffering because these marketers, who are bent on keeping imports alive, already have more money than they can ever spend,” he said.

Despite the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s capacity to meet Nigeria’s entire demand for petroleum products – and even to export surplus fuel – oil marketers continue to pressurise the government to allow ongoing petrol imports. This has placed additional strain on the Naira, which has continued to depreciate.

The Group also said recently, the Crude Oil Refineries Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) urged the government to protect local refineries from unfair competition posed by importers and international petroleum traders, in line with provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

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