Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience, has described the Group President of Azikel Group, Dr Azibapu Eruani, as a “small boy” she raised and mentored into the league of Nigeria’s biggest businessmen.

She said her guidance was behind his bold entry into big business at a relatively young age.

The former First Lady spoke on Tuesday in a video which went viral on Thursday during an inspection tour of the Azikel Refinery in Obunagha, Bayelsa State, alongside other dignitaries.

She said she personally introduced Eruani to billionaire businessmen, Aliko Dangote and Aminu Dantata, and pushed him to aspire to their level despite being the youngest among them.

“He’s a boy that I brought up. We are always together. Although he’s the little one among us when we are friends — Dangote, Seyi, Dantata, Eruani — among us, he’s the smallest. But I made sure he followed the Dangotes, he followed Dantata.

“Because I’m a woman in their midst, I made sure I told this small boy, ‘Go and follow them, and stop the grammar.’ But when he told me that one day he would be like Dangote, I said, ‘You’re thinking too high.’ I prayed to God to grant him his heart’s desire,” she said.

The former First Lady also recalled how the immediate past APC administration under Muhammadu Buhari initially failed to grant Eruani a refinery licence before eventually approving three.

“During the Buhari administration, he and others came to me and told me they were going to apply for a refinery. I told him, ‘Eruani, your brother, the President, did not give you a refinery.

“Is it the APC government that will give you one?’ I prayed it would happen. But later, they came back and told me they had been given three refineries,” she said.

The inspection coincided with the arrival of the refinery’s Crude Distillation Unit, a major milestone in the development of the $1bn facility.

The 25,000 barrels-per-day plant is a private hydro-skimming refinery designed to process condensate into petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and other products.

It is set to become Nigeria’s second-largest full-slate refinery and the first major privately owned refinery in the Niger Delta.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, who joined the inspection tour, commended Eruani for his perseverance, noting that he had attended the project’s groundbreaking ceremony eight years ago.

Ogbuku described the refinery as an inspiration and a potential catalyst for investment, job creation and economic growth in Bayelsa State, and urged residents, particularly youths, to key into the opportunities it would create.

He also praised the Bayelsa State Government for improving road infrastructure leading to the refinery site and called for continued support for the project.

Governor Douye Diri, who was represented at the inspection by his deputy, Peter Akpe, has consistently backed the project, which is expected to employ hundreds of workers and drive industrialisation in the state.

Other dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, King Bubaraye Dakolo; Vice President of Azikel Group, Presley Asemota; and Isaac Yalah, among others.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, at its retail stations.

A market check on Tuesday showed that NNPCL outlets in Abuja and nearby areas adjusted their petrol price from N1,155 per litre to N1,270 per litre.

The latest adjustment represents an increase of N115 per litre by the state-owned oil company.

Some NNPCL and MRS filling stations in Abuja were reportedly shut, while other outlets reviewed their petrol prices upward on Monday.

The new price change follows recent increases by depot owners and petroleum marketers, who have adjusted their rates twice within a week.

The latest development also comes days after Dangote Refinery resumed the sale of refined petroleum products in dollars, a move that has raised concerns among industry players over the direction of fuel pricing in the country.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has officially ended naira-denominated sales of refined petroleum products, introducing a dollar-based pricing structure that fixes the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at $0.779 per litre.

The new pricing template, which took effect on July 13, 2026, also pegs Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) at $0.942 per litre, while coastal deliveries of PMS have been fixed at $1,044.62 per metric tonne.

The development marks the end of naira payments for refined petroleum products, a policy introduced after the commencement of the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative on October 1, 2024.

In a notice issued to petroleum marketers and customers, the refinery announced that all previously issued naira-denominated Proforma Invoices and Deal Recaps for both gantry and coastal transactions had become invalid.

The notice, signed by the refinery’s Group Commercial Operations, directed customers not to make payments against the cancelled invoices, stating that all transactions would now be conducted in United States dollars.

Under the revised pricing schedule, petrol supplied through the gantry will sell for $0.779 per litre, diesel for $1.087 per litre, aviation fuel for $0.942 per litre, while coastal PMS supplies will cost $1,044.62 per metric tonne.

The refinery, however, clarified that the transition does not affect Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which will continue under its existing payment arrangement.

Industry sources said the decision followed a growing imbalance between the currency used to procure crude oil and that used to sell refined products.

According to the sources, the refinery now receives a larger share of its crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under dollar-denominated supply arrangements, while a significant volume of its refined products had continued to be sold locally in naira.

The resulting mismatch, coupled with exchange-rate volatility and fluctuations in global crude oil prices, reportedly increased the refinery’s foreign exchange exposure and prompted the adoption of a uniform dollar-based pricing framework.

A source familiar with the development explained that the shift became necessary as the volume of naira-denominated crude supplies declined relative to dollar-based crude cargoes.

“The refinery is receiving fewer naira-denominated crude cargoes while a larger proportion of its refined products has continued to be sold in naira. That imbalance, combined with foreign exchange volatility, made the transition to dollar pricing inevitable,” the source said.

The decision is expected to have significant implications for petroleum marketers who source products directly from the refinery for nationwide distribution. It could also influence retail pump prices, depending on movements in the exchange rate, international crude oil prices, logistics costs and marketers’ operating expenses.

The Federal Government had introduced the naira-for-crude policy to encourage domestic refining, reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand and stabilise fuel prices. However, industry stakeholders have recently reported implementation challenges, noting that a growing proportion of crude supplies to local refiners has reverted to dollar-based transactions.

Analysts believe the latest development underscores the continued foreign exchange challenges facing Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector despite efforts to deepen local refining and reduce dependence on imported fuel.