Handle Ajaero’s interrogation professionally, group tasks police

The Coalition for Good Governance (CGG), comprising over 90 civil society groups, NGOs, and public interest organisations, has called on the police to maintain professionalism in the interrogation of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero.

Ajaero has been invited by the Nigeria Police Force for questioning over suspected links to terrorism, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy, treasonable felony and connections to a Briton living in the NLC headquarters in Abuja.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Coalition Convener Nelson Ekujumi stressed the importance of ensuring that the police uphold their duty to maintain law and order while handling such serious allegations.

“The security of life and property is paramount, and the NLC should avoid politicising this grave matter,” Ekujumi stated.

The coalition, which described the arrival of a functional Dangote Refinery as a step forward, was concerned by the lack of transparency regarding the refinery’s cost of production of petrol per litre.

The coalition also expressed concerns about the Dangote Refinery, applauding its operational progress but questioning the transparency of its petrol production costs.

He said, “Nigerians deserve to know the true cost of this crucial product to ensure fair pricing, transparency, and accountability. Additionally, we question the current logistics strategy for evacuating PMS solely via trucks, which is inefficient and risks further straining our transportation infrastructure. We urge the government to implement alternative logistics solutions, such as rail and water transportation, to improve efficiency, create jobs and wealth, sustain existing ones, and bolster national security.”

Ekujumi commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for promoting transparency in Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) operations, including proper documentation of crude oil transactions and payments to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The coalition also praised Tinubu’s directive for local crude oil supply to Dangote and other refineries and sales in Naira.

“We also applaud President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s patriotic directive to the NNPCL to supply crude oil to the Dangote refinery and other local refineries even in the midst of its production challenges and upfront contractual obligations, as well as the sales of the crude oil to the refinery in our local currency, the Naira,” the group said.

“However, it is disgraceful that Nigeria, the largest producer of oil and gas in Africa, does not have fully functional refineries. But we are encouraged by recent developments, particularly the progress of the Dangote Refinery and the revitalization of our national refineries, which we hope will bring an end to our dependency on imported petroleum products and the drain on our scarce foreign resources.”