Afenifere asks Tinubu to probe NNPCL fuel import, refinery repairs
The Afenifere Youth Wing has called for an independent probe into the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, citing concerns over the continued massive importation of fuel despite claims of repaired refineries.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, the convener of the group, Isijola Shola, expressed dismay at the NNPCL’s actions, stating that the corporation, “despite its claim of having bounced back, has continued to import refined petroleum products.”
Shola reminded the public of the NNPCL’s promises to end the perennial petrol queues.
He emphasised the trust Nigerians had placed in these assurances, “Nigerians believed these promises in the expectation that they came from the leadership of what should have been a world-class organisation populated by persons of honour.
“As a refresher, NNPCL promised Nigerians that the perennial petrol queues that brought the country to its knees in the past would become a thing of the past but has failed to fulfil the promise,” he said.
However, Shola lamented that these expectations were “shattered.”
He accused the NNPCL of failing to meet deadlines for refinery repairs, “NNPC did not meet up with the timeframes it gave Nigerians even after misapplying millions of dollars in repair costs.”
He further alleged that the corporation resorted to “cock-and-bull stories” while citizens suffered through fuel queues and “losing valuable funds to buying cutthroat black market petrol.”
He added, “In this period, the country bled trillions of naira in payment for phantom subsidies to faceless entities and individuals.”
The Afenifere Youth leader pointed to the corporation’s continued importation figures as evidence of their claims. “In January this year alone, NNPCL superintended the importation of 489,065 Metric Tonnes of Petrol and Diesel of which it was directly responsible for 72.25% of the volume, which means it is responsible for three-quarters of all imported refined petroleum products this year.”
He also cited figures from the last quarter of the previous year, “In the last quarter of last year, that is, from October 1 to December 31 2024, importation stood at a combined 3,638,118.41 metric Tonnes for petrol and diesel, for which the percentage of NNPC importation is 68.77%, which is almost two-thirds of what was imported.” He further claimed that “In this period, NNPCL was responsible for 41 shipping, and this is not counting those done by proxies like Matrix Oil.”
Shola questioned the timing of these imports, “To better understand what is happening here, one needs to recall that this surge in the importation of refined products was at a time NNPCL claimed it had restreamed Port Harcourt and Warri refineries and was even exporting semi-refined products to Dubai.” He also noted the period coincided with Dangote Refinery exporting petrol, raising further questions. “Some pundits have suggested that NNPCL likely re-imported the exported Dangote petrol, but we believe this is stretching it far.”
He also linked the naira’s devaluation to the NNPCL’s import practices, “We have also noted how the naira lost significant value within this period that NNPCL was massively importing petrol while claiming otherwise.”
Shola expressed a lack of faith in the current NNPCL leadership.
“Ordinarily, we would ask Mele Kyari and NNPCL to explain what has happened to make Nigeria’s petroleum importation surge at a time when they are touting local refining capacity. But we know that such demand would be met with indifference or more lies. We have lost confidence in the capacity of NNPCL or its leadership to do the right thing.”
Therefore, the Afenifere Youth Wing is calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene while demanding a comprehensive investigation.
“It is for this reason that we urge President Bola Tinubu to safeguard his legacy and not allow the greed of an inherited appointee to rubbish his avowal of far-reaching reforms.
“Mr President would serve the interest of Nigerians by immediately ordering an independent probe of how and why he was misled about the NNPCL’s refining capacity.”
The requested probe, according to Shola, should include “finding out what happened to the funds claimed to have been spent on fixing the refineries, why NNPCL continues to import what it claims to have started producing locally, the source of the forex used for the importation from October last year to date, the identities of the signatories to the NNPCL imports including a directive for the nation’s anti-graft agencies to investigate them as individuals and corporate entities, and what has been happening to the products that were supposedly locally refined.”
To ensure the integrity of the investigation, Afenifere has called for the suspension of key NNPCL officials. “Additionally, to prevent interference, we urge President Tinubu to place Mele Kyari and his associates at the NNPCL on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation.” Shola concluded, “Anything short of this will leave Nigerians no option but to conclude that Mr President is in on what NNPCL has done to Nigerians.”
