Vested interests frustrating Dangote Refinery – Emir Sanusi

Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has decried what he described as the frustration of Dangote Refinery by vested interests, saying Nigeria is supposed to be maximizing the benefits of locally producing petroleum products.

The revered royal father and former Central Bank Governor said the country’s first privately owned refinery is being frustrated because of vested interests.

Sanusi, who spoke in Abuja on Thursday during the launch of the book, Public Policy and Agents’ Interests: Perspectives From The Emerging World, which he contributed to, explained that these saboteurs range from international oil marketers to “people locally who have been profiting from these subsidy scams.”

He said: “The Nigerian state has been captured by a rental class that sees the state as a site for rent extraction rather than as an agent for development. This is the fact, and this is what has destroyed Nigeria. People get into office, and when they get into office, what they are thinking of is how much they can make out of the state rather than how they can use the state to serve the citizenry.

“There are many examples in this country of public servants who have acted creditably, served, and delivered for this country. But why is Nigeria where it is today?

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“They refer to the Dangote Refinery, and there have been issues around the refinery. I don’t know what the details are. But this is a country that has been importing petroleum products for so many years. This was an opportunity to wean itself from importing petroleum products. Instead of grabbing this opportunity with open arms, we are frustrating it. Why would anyone stop us from having the capacity to produce our own refined petroleum products? Because there are vested interests who have profited from Nigeria continuing to import this product. They could be oil marketers internationally, or they could be people locally who have been profiting from these subsidy scams. And this is the end because every excuse disappears when you are no longer importing and you are producing locally.”

The Emir, who noted that the chief author of the book and former Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, lectured him in university, added that it is commendable that as one of the longest-serving public officials, he has never been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Last month, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had declared that those benefiting from fuel importation would do all in their power to frustrate the Dangote Refinery.

Obasanjo shared his opinion on the heels of recent allegations by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that some government and non-government officials were making efforts to frustrate the $20bn facility.