News
Fear Of Imprisonment May Destroy Apc As Implosion Looms In Cross River
“PAUL MAY SORE, APOLLOS MAY WATER THE CROPS, BUT THE FRUITFULNESS COMES FROM THE LORD OF HOST”.
By OBI OJAGE.
TODAY happens to be my birthday, being the 12th day of April, and I am exceedingly glad that I saw this day in one piece with all I go through daily in the medley hands of human devils on my trail. But sadly none except one person amongst many of the highly successful so-called rich friends I know sent me a gift. And in doing so he cautioned that I should keep it secret. And I have been wondering why despite the number of highly influential persons I have on my WhatsApp list which includes Governors both serving and none serving; some of whom I have had conversations with here on WhatsApp calls including serving cabinet ministers, senators et all, both on my Facebook and WhatsApp respectively who read my stories, but none sent me any gift to celebrate the occasion with, be it in a monetary form or otherwise.
IT COULD be; I guess because I didn’t herald the day loud enough or make a formal request for that maybe or because I am not in their category or class of men? I better not be. I now seem to place too much value on my Soul they say. Yes because, after the troubles, I am encountering here in this present life’s journey, I wouldn’t want to be made to go through this again when I am dead and my soul stocked down in the grave without transcending. A situation where a worthless herbalist from nowhere would not allow me to rest in the grave peacefully because he now finds the raw material suitable for his job and would be using my Soul to run errands for him day and night, rain or shine where I would be invoked from the grave and sent to harm other fellow humans as a ghost, night or day without rest or holiday until I become ripped for upgrading from a mere human ghost into a full-fledged Demon from where I would now be qualified to be hired by Sorcerers and Necromancers in a more classy and dignified manner to carry out bigger assignments of evil proclivities.
ALL these would take place due to indolence and if I accept to digress from living under the supervision and control by the dictates of an in dueling spirit of the lord in me to that control by forces beyond and out of me in the quest for a forcefully acquired power and fame through inducement, deceit, and blackmail over that which are ephemeral.
NONETHELESS, times are fierce presently in our country, and therefore whoever is bogged down with many thoughts of what way to go needs the right consultation from inspired humans who are less ambitious to offer them solutions that are unbiased, factual, impactful, and result-oriented.
I HAD always said and I am going to repeat it here again, that I joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a political party of choice all because of President Mohammadu Buhari’s chasteness at the time. I owe no one an explanation of whether or not I have been rewarded in the process. And to have a say politically over what goes on around my environment especially concerning who becomes the Governor of my state and the President over whom I will be ready to pledge my total loyalty in the onerous task of building a worthy society of egalitarianism and where “might” cannot be “right”. And where “right” can only be justified when the truth is made bare in all circumstances. And where integrity and empathy go hand in hand and become the nom upheld by those in leadership positions all across. And I had not relented literally on this opium since then. And I wouldn’t relinquish that now for anything’s sake.
HOWEVER, the evolution of history as a past event is about to rehearse itself again in my state of Cross river thankfully; pronto: “the Governorship contest that took place some time ago between His Excellency Mr. Donald Etim Duke from the South versus Dr. Joseph Okpo from the Northern Senatorial Districts of the state which I also played a role is about to repeat itself”. This is what we are about to witness in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections which are billed to take place next year, the Lord willing. And the make or break contest is going to be between the two rival parties namely, the APC and PDP as the preamble now seem to play out itself with palpable indices pointing to that scenario.
THEREFORE those who are to handle the various party primary election within the two parties must do so diligently and with caution against what we hear of some underhand inducement taken place from those with an unquenchable drive to become what nature has not destined them to be.
IN the midst of all that, we, members of the old APC were quite shocked and bewildered when an irresponsible statement took a center stage on the social media recently to incite unnecessary delirium credited to the present imposed state chairman of our great party the APC known for his choruses which comes with syncopation and glim to attract concern meant to exude vague power often to herald his presence and centrifugally which were intended in this case to obliterate the popular and public pronouncements of the state Governor done in good faith aptly presented over an issue that tickled the sensitivity of a plurality of people incognito who are battle-ready to resist the temptation of having their rights vanquished over that which was inspirationally issued out by the party headship in respect of where the successor of the incumbent should come from in line with the agreed pattern.
THE counter proclamation of our new master of ceremony in the person of the imposed state chairman sounded incredulous to the ears to have anyone toy with such a highly hailed inducement stunt meant to amass massive public support championed by the Governor in readiness for an election that demands stratagem, persuasiveness, and the sentiments expressed in response thereto by denizens gives chimney to its efficacy.
THIS was incredibly so preemptive because it is in line with where the party enjoys wider acceptability especially when it has in its fold a leading and unbending aspirant who also enjoys a cosmopolitan endorsement in the person of Senator (Prince) Bassey Otu whose candidacy towers far above those now vying for the same position in both parties who are from the same Efik ethnic group of the Southern hemisphere, same like the Prince.
The state chairman, therefore, has no right whatsoever to differ from the position held or pronouncements made by the Governor regarding the zoning preferences of the party uniquely suited and articulated rightly, which was categorical and peculiar to its circumstances simply because some underhand inducements had taken place as alleged followed by the expression of discontentment by some party members including stakeholders out there.
THOSE party members especially from the Central Senatorial District of the state are now using the outcome of the recently concluded by-election where our candidate who is now in the National Assembly, chief Ngaji defeated his counterpart of the PDP at the Ogoja elections as the yardstick for measuring the organizational structure, functions, strength, and readiness of the party as well as the individuals from the area in question in the light of that event, which they now claim is a representation of the ability of their zone in gaining victory for the party in future elections owing to that singular incident ab-initio, are not only elusive to contemplate but has all the entrapment hollowing discontent driven by mischief.
AND such assertions are baseless and watery especially so, as most of those trumpeting this falsehood didn’t have any role to play nor did they play any at all to the best of my knowledge. Whereas, everything the party had in the state was deployed to see to the success of that particular election. And in addition, you had the entire stakeholders of the party converged at Ogoja all for just that particular election to the detriment of the other elections that were to take place in the state, especially in the Southern Senatorial District of Akpabio, Bakasi, and Calabar South simultaneously.
THE argument to consider in the whole scenario in practical terms here in my opinion is this, that a candidate from either the North or Central Senatorial District of the state can defeat someone from the South in a general election that involves the entire state such as the Governorship race only when that particular candidate in issue is a product of a consensual arrangement of both the North and Central in support of the party from which the fellow emerges from to give such a person the overall confidence needed to run against a Southern candidate, otherwise, it will be highly competitive or near impossible to win.
THESE include and are not limited to a candidate from the Ejagham tribe with headquarters at Efraya, the local government headquarters of Etung, which is said to command the largest single ethnic majority in the state and cuts across the three Senatorial Districts that speak Ejagham being a tribe to which I belong paternally. This is so owing largely to disunity prevalent in and around the various ethnic cleavages or tribes down there.
WHILE a candidate from the South of the same status and disposition especially an Efik person of either from Calabar Municipal, Odukpani, Akpabio, Calabar South, or Bakassi can run against anybody from both the Central and North and win based on his or her disposition and popularity without going into any consensual arrangement apart from a cosmopolitan endorsement gotten on account of their acceptability of those around. Such a person can run on his or her merit against anybody with or without consensual interferences and win against a candidate coming from these two zones comfortably. Do you know why?
THIS is so because whoever is popular and known by everyone that lives in the capital city of Calabar and its environment and had risen to the level of a Senator, Minister, or a highly respected business Mongol especially an Efik or Qua person born and bred in between Odukpani, Akpabio, Bakassi, the Municipal and Calabar South, Biase or Odukpani such as Senator Bassey Otu (Sweet Prince) is, a consensual arrangement is unlikely to be stricken in such cases either with the Quas/Ejagham of the municipality, those in Akamkpa or the Biase people compulsorily if the person has a cosmopolitan appeal which Senator Otu has in abundance coupled with his generosity.
THE stranger elements within the municipality and its environs, with a greater number of Akwa Ibo-mites around, in this case, would prefer to vote an Efik as their first choice before any other tribe appealing for their votes. So too; is an Igbo person resident in the South. In short, the entire stranger elements residing in and out of Calabar and the adjoining local government within the pricing of Calabar would vote an Efik to any other tribe here in cross river state in an election between those from other areas, I bet you on that. And the number is usually huge.
SO any attempt to short change the old members for those coming into the party newly no matter their pedigree and financial power will spell doom for APC. And among the old members vying for governorship positions between those from the two senatorial Districts of South and Central, the Efik in the quality of Prince Bassey Otu will serve the party better. The other Efik person who could’ve given Senator Otu a fight from where we would have had a choice if he was deeply involved in this race, is no other than my great compact friend, Etubom Architect Bassey Eyo Ndem. He is a highly consummate entrepreneur and a monoqueen of the sort who is an asset to our dear state.
THIS is why the zoning arrangement by the Governor most peculiar to APC sounds logical because of the quality of aspirants here, especially Senator Bassey Otu’s candidacy amongst others. That’s not so with every Efik person seen in the race especially those aspiring from our rival PDP conglomeration yonder except for an infinitesimal few such as Sir Arthur Jarvis Achibong and His Excellency Barrister Efiok Kobom, the rest pretenders in the race are paperweights.
WHICH is why the choice of having Senator Sandy Onor on the other side of the divide heightens the stakes and makes the game highly competitive. He is the only PDP person to reckon with that could be said to be in the race for Governorship against APC. Any other person chosen would be a walkover for our party with Sweet Prince Otu at the saddle. I am sorry for the digression. I hope those parroting around with disjointed English would not accuse me again here of being a PDP sympathizer simply because I mentioned my friend who is also their friend at night hours, Professor Sandy Onor. Why won’t I say something about our opponents while at the same time advising my party on the right decision to make and the person to choose who will give us victory by sticking to her earlier zoning arrangements?
To do otherwise would spell doom for APC as the sentiment of ignoring any Calabar candidate for someone elsewhere at this material time especially when the zoning arrangement has been made to sink deep into their subconscious, will not augur well however you preach the sermon, they’ll be an implosion of that tribe to join the PDP or the entire Calabar person over such blunders, quote me on that. I speak as an Oracle and I say the truth before the Holy Spirit and I fear not nor lie.
BUT if you ask me for my predictions of who the possible candidates of both parties may be, I will tell you right away here that, and this is if both parties are willing to put their very best material out from those presently vying for the position of Governor. Then the contest should be between High Chief Senator Bassey Otu (Sweet Prince) of the APC, against Prof. Senator Sandy Ojang Onor (Ntufam) of the PDP, for the entire Cross River people to decide who becomes their Governor.
PLEASE, do have a wonderful Easter Celebration with gusto, Amen…!
IF the Lord does not protect the house, the watchman, whoever he or she may be, watches in vain.
End Time Message.
GOD WITH US…..
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi on Thursday submitted their nomination forms at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Atiku, in a post on his X handle on Thursday, said his presidential bid represents a broader movement aimed at restoring national prosperity and rebuilding Nigeria.
Amaechi, on his part, pledged to turn the country around within four years if elected, arguing that competence, experience and performance—not ethnicity or political sentiment—should determine the 2027 contest.
Their declarations come as the ADC continues to attract high-profile politicians ahead of the next general elections, amid intensifying political realignments across the country.
Speaking after submitting his form at the ADC national headquarters in Abuja, Atiku wrote, “The march to restore prosperity and better days to our beloved nation took a firm and decisive step forward today at the national secretariat of our great party, the African Democratic Congress.”
The former vice president said the movement transcended politics and was focused on national renewal and hope.
“This is more than a political journey; it is a national movement rooted in hope, renewal, and the collective resolve to save Nigeria from despair,” he stated.
He also called on Nigerians across ethnic, religious and regional divides to support the movement.
“I call on all Nigerians, regardless of region, faith, or background, to join us in this noble cause. Together, we will restore the promise of our nation and bring good times back again,” he added.
On his part, Amaechi pledged to transform Nigeria within four years if elected in the 2027 general election.
Amaechi made the promise shortly after submitting his nomination forms, where he also took a swipe at the administration of President Bola Tinubu, blaming it for the country’s worsening economic hardship.
The former Rivers State governor said the 2027 election should be based on competence, experience and performance rather than ethnic or regional sentiments.
“What Nigerians should do is assess all of us who are running for office based on our records.
“Nearly everybody who is running for the office of the president has served Nigeria in one way or another. Let this be a referendum. If you have performed, whoever has outperformed the other, vote for the person,” he said.
Amaechi argued that his years in public office had prepared him for the task of leading the country, citing his tenure as governor and later as Minister of Transportation under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The next thing is, who is capable of delivering the votes? Who is capable of beating the incumbent? Who has the experience? I believe I am the most experienced.
“I am young, I am the most experienced, and I believe I have the capacity.
“Go back to Rivers State and see what I have done. Go back to the Ministry of Transportation and see what I have done, and assess it and see whether I can turn the country around. And I will, in four years, turn the country around,” he declared.
Amaechi, who served as governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, was a key figure in the formation of the All Progressives Congress and later served as Director-General of President Buhari’s 2015 campaign.
As Minister of Transportation between 2015 and 2023, he oversaw major railway projects, including the Abuja-Kaduna and Lagos-Ibadan rail lines, although critics questioned the rising debt associated with some of the infrastructure projects.
Speaking on the state of the nation, the former minister criticised what he described as the growing hardship under the Tinubu administration, saying Nigerians were bearing the brunt of economic policies that had worsened living conditions.
“Nigerians should vote for merit, not vote for those who say, ‘I’m from this place’ or ‘it is our turn.’
“It is the ‘Emilokan’ mentality that brought us here. It is our turn that brought us here. Now Nigerians are suffering,” he said.
By Okey Maduforo Awka
Movement For Actualization Of A Sovereign State Of Biafra (MASSOB) has declared May 30th Biafran Day celebration stating that the Sit-At-Home Order is voluntary for all Biafrans .
This year’s celebration is to mark the 59th year anniversary of Biafra declaration by General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu on 30th May, 1967
According to the Spokesman of MASSOB Comrade Edeson Samuel nobody is going to be forced to observe the Sit At Home Order adding that it is optional to all Biafrans.
“MASSOB in the spirit of true Biafrans and brotherhood among Biafra agitators and Biafrans in general have declared 2026 commemoration of Biafra Anniversary ceremony with sit at home exercise in Biafra land for sober reflection”
“MASSOB declares that all markets, public, private motor parks, schools, banks, and other public business premises shall remain closed from 6 am to 4 pm on 30th May, 2026”
“It is a mark of appreciation and acknowledgement of the numerous sacrifices and prices our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters rendered for Biafra during the three years war of genocide against Biafra by the British backed Nigeria”.
The body further recognizes the contributions of the leader of Indigenous People Of Biafra IPOB Mazi Nnamdi Kanu towards the Biafran emancipation demanding for his unconditional release.
“MASSOB is also using the Biafra declaration anniversary to show solidarity to our brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who is wrongly imprisoned for the sake of Biafra”
“We demand his immediate release and call for justice for all Biafrans who have been unjustly detained or persecuted”
Edeson further reiterated that the celebration is annual activity that has never been a threat to security law and order noting that it has already been non violent.
“The call for stay at home has been our annual and recalling measures and steps for effective civil disobedience ceremonial exercise”
“MASSOB reminds the people of Biafra that this exercise has always been the life wire of the Biafran struggle which boomed the potency and acceptability of the non violence Biafra self determination struggle.
“The request for closure of Markets, public/private motor parks, schools and other public business premises is a one day mandatory exercise that Biafrans shall stand, it is a mark of respect and love for our fatherland.
“Biafrans shall not be compelled, pressurized or forced to observe the stay at home exercise.
“MASSOB and other pro Biafra agitators will not molest, compel or intimidate anybody to observe the stay at home exercise as all our members shall stay indoors in observance of the great day of Biafra.”
“There shall be no physical demonstration, street march, procession or any other public functions in Biafra land on May 30th 2026”
The body stated that it is aware that there would be heavy presence of security operatives urging Biafrans to conduct themselves well and peaceful in order not to engage themselves is a senseless face off with the personnel .
“MASSOB knows that there will be heavy presence of armed Nigeria Army, Mobile police, DSS operatives and Civil Defence in major cities of Biafra land during our annual Biafra Day Anniversary Celebration”
“They are all signs of jittery, fear and cowardice of Nigeria state over Biafra”
“No amount of security intimidation, mesmerization, killings, detention, oppression, incarceration etc will ever stop the will power of an indigenous people for self determination. the use of force can never stop the inflow of the spirit of Biafra” he said.
By Okey Maduforo Awka
The Igbo Community Association FCT and the Ohaneze Ndigbo have commenced massive mobilization of over 1.2 million Igbo residents living within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The mobilization is targeted at ensuring that eligible Igbo citizens utilize the registration window opened by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), running from May 11 to July 10.
The association strongly warned against voter apathy, urging the 1.2 million Igbo residents in Abuja to arm themselves with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) as a critical tool for political representation and socio-economic survival.
“Today, the most powerful weapon in the hands of the Igbo person is the PVC and the absolute ability to vote on election day. Our PVC is the new ‘Ogbunigwe’—the ultimate defensive tool for our future”
According to the duo of it’s President General Engr Ikenna- Elis Ezenekwe and the Secretary General Mazi Chinwoke Onah ;
“We will no longer be fooled by reckless calls to boycott elections or abstain from registration; doing so is simply shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The leadership emphasized that Ndigbo represents a massive, foundational voting bloc across Nigeria.
The group noted that any upcoming national demographic census tracking tribal distribution will firmly validate that the 1.2 million Igbo residents and the broader Igbo populace constitute the largest voting bloc in Nigeria.
To ensure the success of this mobilization grid, the association is making a direct appeal to major political stakeholders and leaders of Igbo extraction resident in Abuja.
Specifically, the group called on Hon. Ben Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, to lead the cause of getting the Igbo political leaders in Abuja to join this very important exercise.
Continuing the Association noted that;
“To eliminate barriers to registration, the Igbo Community Association FCT is establishing localized assistance centers and a dedicated citizen helpline”
“The 1.2 million Igbo residents who require support with online pre-registrations, biometric capture locations, profile corrections, or PVC transfers are urged to reach out immediately”
The Igbo Community Association FCT is the apex socio-cultural body representing the interests, welfare, and cultural heritage of over 1.2 million Igbo residents living within Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. The association works in tandem with national bodies like Ohanaeze Ndigbo to promote unity, civic responsibility, and progressive representation for Ndigbo on the national stage.
Findings m also revealed that the disbursements, made into the Presidential Air Fleet naira transit account operated by the Presidential Air Fleets (State House), were recorded in eight separate transactions across three months of June, July and December 2025, with the bulk of the transfers concentrated in July, when four transactions totalling N2.43bn were made in the space of a week.
A breakdown of the transactions shows that N1.285bn was disbursed on June 12, followed by N430m on July 24, N1.28bn on July 25, N92m on July 29, and N626m on July 31.
In December, three further disbursements were recorded. They include N9m on December 18, described in the GovSpend database as “Presidential Air Fleet forex transit funds,” N343.9m on December 30 and N90.9m on December 31.
Four of the eight transactions carry no accompanying description, listed simply as “None,” a pattern consistent with previous disbursements to the transit account.
Most disbursements to the Presidential Air Fleet transit account are labelled “Forex Transit Funds,” typically funds allocated for foreign exchange requirements to facilitate international transactions, covering expenses related to operations outside the country, including fuel purchases, maintenance or services in foreign currencies.
The new figures add to a growing cumulative spend that has accelerated significantly since Tinubu assumed office.
At least N26.38bn was spent on the operations of the Presidential Air Fleet from July 2023 to December 2024, with N14.15bn disbursed in 2024 alone.
The Presidential Air Fleet’s total budget allocation stood at N17.32bn in 2025, declining to N14.70bn in 2026.
The reduction was driven mainly by decreased capital expenditure.
Engine overhaul projects across the fleet consumed N4.58bn in 2024, N8.65bn in 2025 and N6.05bn in 2026, bringing the three-year aggregate to N19.27bn.
Since 2017, under the Buhari administration, budgetary allocations for the fleet have shown a growing trend, with one exception in 2020, rising from N4.37bn in 2017 to N20.52bn in 2024, a 370 per cent increase in running costs over seven years.
In an interview with our correspondent, the General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, had blamed the meteoric rise on the age of some of the aircraft in the fleet and the declining value of the naira, as well as the “commercial use” of aircraft by the Nigerian Air Force.
Ohunayo explained, “The cost will definitely increase over the years because, for one, this issue of the naira against the dollar.
“As the naira keeps falling to the dollar, we will see a rise in cost because most of the costs of training crew and engineers and replacing aircraft parts are all in dollars.
“Also, some of these aircraft are not new. The older the aircraft, the higher the cost of maintenance and operation.
“Lastly, during these past years, terrorism and insecurity have increased in Nigeria, which has also affected the cost of insuring the aircraft.”
The episode had prompted the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence to recommend the procurement of two new presidential aircraft.
In August 2024, the official Boeing 737 business jet for the President was replaced with an Airbus A330 purchased for $100m through service-wide votes.
The nearly 15-year-old plane, an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), is “spacious and furnished with state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said, adding “it will save Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.”
From February through July 2025, the President flew a San Marino-registered BBJ (REG: T7-NAS).
Sources who spoke to one of our correspondents confirmed that the primary aircraft had been flown to South Africa to change its colours to reflect the office of the President. It was flown back in July 2025.
The Presidential Air Fleet comprises a fixed-wing fleet that includes the Airbus ACJ330-200, a Gulfstream G550, a Gulfstream G500, two Falcon 7Xs, a Hawker 4000 and a Challenger 605, three of which are reportedly unserviceable.
The rotor-wing fleet includes two Agusta 139s and two Agusta 101s, operated by the Nigerian Air Force under the supervision of the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The CEO of Centurion Security Limited, John Ojikutu, argued that the disbursements for the air fleet operations were justified considering all related expenses.
“That’s not a big deal. If they are going for repair, particularly for C-checks. It’s always around that range.
“They will fly it abroad, buy fuel, catering, and hotel bills are also involved; pilots will fly it back, and the figure likely includes far more than the direct cost of repairing the aircraft,” Ojikutu explained, adding that the figure likely includes far more than the direct cost of operating the aircraft.
The Presidency did not respond to inquiries on the nature of the specific disbursements captured in the recent data.
As of the time of filing this report, calls to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, went unanswered.
In an earlier interview with our correspondent, Onanuga had argued that the costs of maintaining the air fleet are not for the President but in the interest of Nigerians.
“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane; it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property…the President did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet, but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.
“Nigerians should try to prioritise the safety of the President. I’m not sure anybody wishes our President to go and crash in the air.
“We want his safety so that he can hand it over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.
Source: PUNCH
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that the company rejected attempts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to increase its 7.25 per cent stake in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Dangote disclosed this during an interview with Nicolai Tangen, stating that the decision was taken because the refinery plans to go public and allow more Nigerians to own shares in the facility.
According to him, the national oil company had sought to acquire additional equity in the multi-billion-dollar refinery, but the proposal was turned down.
“We are the ones that said no; we want to now spread it and have everybody be part of it,” Dangote said.
The refinery, located in Lekki, Lagos, is valued at about $20bn. In 2021, NNPC acquired a 7.25 per cent stake in the plant for $1bn, with an option to increase its ownership to 20 per cent by June 2024. However, the company later decided against purchasing the remaining shares.
Dangote had earlier clarified in 2024 that the NNPC’s actual ownership in the refinery was 7.2 per cent and not the widely reported 20 per cent, explaining that the oil company failed to pay the balance required under the agreement.
“The agreement was actually 20 per cent, which we had with NNPC, and they did not pay the balance of the money up until last year,” he had said.
Dangote also identified government policy inconsistency as one of the biggest risks facing businesses in Nigeria, alongside the possibility of civil unrest.
“The other biggest risk is government inconsistencies in policies,” he stated.
Findings further showed that petrol supply from the refinery rose significantly in the first quarter of 2026, reaching about 3.18 billion litres, while fuel imports dropped sharply to 965.52 million litres within the same period.
The average domestic ex-depot petrol price from the refinery between January and March 2026 stood at about ₦1,000 per litre, indicating that the refinery supplied over ₦3.2tn worth of petrol into the Nigerian market during the review period.
The refinery has also reportedly benefited from rising global tensions involving the United States and Iran, with disruptions in the oil market boosting exports of refined petroleum products.
Speaking on the company’s investment strategy, Dangote said future investors in the group’s businesses, including cement, petrochemicals, fertiliser and refining, would receive dividends in dollars because most of the company’s revenue now comes from exports.
“What we are announcing is that when you invest in any of our businesses going forward, we guarantee to pay you a dividend in dollars because we are very well into exports. Eighty per cent of our revenue will be in dollars,” he said.
Dangote also recounted how he sold his luxury properties in the United States and the United Kingdom to focus fully on industrial development in Nigeria.
“When I decided to go into the industry, I sold all my properties in the US and the UK. I wanted to really sit in Nigeria and concentrate,” he said.
He explained that his business philosophy is driven by identifying products Nigerians heavily import and producing them locally through backward integration.
According to him, the refinery project received financial backing from several institutions, including Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered.
Meanwhile, former NNPC spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, had previously explained that the company reduced its intended refinery stake to channel funds into compressed natural gas projects.
-
Politics4 days agoAPC House of Reps Screening: Onwuegbu Clears Exercise Ahead Of Primaries
-
Politics4 days agoAPC Expels 30 Members In Anambra Over Court Action Ahead Of Primaries
-
Crime5 days agoFake Pastors Arrested in Anambra as Soludo Begins Crackdown
-
Education5 days agoEnugu: CIC Student Drowns While Trying To Retrieve Bucket From Water Reservoir
-
Crime4 days agoWoman Beats Stepdaughter to Death in Enugu
-
Crime3 days agoAnambra Police Debunk Involvement In Death Of Suspect
-
Politics4 days ago2027: Kwankwaso dismisses Atiku, predicts NDC, ADC reunification
-
News4 days agoFG Announces 150 As University, Nursing Cut-Off Mark