The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting the $20 billion Dangote Refinery near Lagos.
He made this statement before the Ad-hoc Committee led by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, which is investigating alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum industry, during a session in Abuja on Wednesday.
“We are also committed to supporting the Dangote Refinery. We are committed to supporting the modular refineries and we have been resolving whatever issue that has been brought to our attention from time to time,” Lokpobiri said.
“As a government, we are committed to protecting our local industries. There is no two ways. We are committed to protecting all stakeholders in the oil sector; not just one company, not just one regulator, but every stakeholder deserves protection, which is the government’s responsibility.
“We are committed to providing the same standard of protection for everybody. And that is what we have been doing,” the minister stated.
He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to completing the rehabilitation of the three state-owned refineries to “reduce the level of imports necessary to meet the needs of Nigerians.”
In late July, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) instructed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira rather than U.S. dollars.
This measure aims to alleviate pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, stabilize the pump prices of petrol, diesel, and other products in Nigeria, and boost local production of refined petroleum products.