BY SAM OTUONYE
In a stroke of contradiction over allegations of sabotaging Dangote refinery by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) for not supplying enough crude for its operations, it appeared the company has suddenly backtracked, as the Group Chief Strategy Officer, Aliyu Suleiman has stated that 60 per cent of the crude supplied to the refinery was done by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
Aliyu made the submission during an interactive session organised by the Senate Ad-hoc committee to investigate alleged sabotage in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
Meanwhile, NNPC Ltd has debunked the allegation at different fora, insisting it was a calculated attempt to malign their efforts and tarnish their image.
It would be recalled that the owner of the refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had few weeks ago raised the alarm that NNPC Ltd in conjunction with the oil regulatory bodies was starving his nascent industry of crude. An allegation that has led to probe and counter probe, with the presidency launching an intervention.
Also, the Group Chief Commercial Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Rabiu A. Umar, had recently, while speaking with newsmen in Kano claimed that the NNPC has been supplying insufficient crude oil for its production demand.
He added that the refinery, which has the capacity of refining 650,000 per day, could not depend on short supply from Nigeria’s oil company.
But during his presentation at Senate, Aliyu Suleiman stated that out of the five million barrels of crude oil they got in recent time, NNPC gave them 60 per cent while 20 per cent was imported, and 20 per cent was purchased.
Aliyu expressed gratitude for the strong partnership between the Dangote Refinery and the NNPC Ltd, and for making the huge supply to Dangote.
He described the refinery as a baby that should be supported by all relevant stakeholders in order to grow and not die.