Nigerians have taken to social media to express their discontent with businessman Femi Otedola’s hype for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s role in the success of the Dangote Refinery.
The refinery, located in Lagos, is a $19 billion project that aims to produce 650,000 barrels of oil per day, making it about the largest in Africa.
Otedola had, on Sunday, in a statement on his official X (formerly known as Twitter) page, commended the president for making the refinery’s achievement possible, stating that fuel queues were now a thing of the past.
“Kudos to President Tinubu for making this a reality! Fuel queues are now a thing of the past as Dangote Refinery starts loading PMS today Sunday 15 September 2024,” Otedola, in the post, stated.
But many Nigerians disagreed with Otedola’s sentiment, citing the high cost of petrol and the perceived exploitation of citizens.
The Dangote Refinery, which began loading petrol on Sunday, is expected to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports and ease the pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
However, critics argue that the refinery’s pricing strategy will only benefit the wealthy elite, while the average Nigerian will continue to struggle with high fuel costs.
Obiasogu David said, “There’s no kudos to Tinubu. They fought Dangote until he agreed to the ‘deal.’ Using the Dangote refinery to set prices and have Nigerians pay N800+ for petrol is wicked!”
Others, like Abu Usman, urged Otedola to address the issue of pricing, saying, “Sir, talk to your friend about pricing, this is the gift we ask for, sir.”
According to another user who simply identified as Femi on the microblogging platform, fuel price had skyrocketed to a point where an average employed citizen cannot afford it.
He said, “How does that affect the per-liter [SIC] cost now? That is the main issue… Full tank now is half of monthly salary.”
Speaking on the need for the market to be observed before drawing conclusions, Mr Naz noted that the billionaire’s statement comes off as “hasty” in the scope of happenstance.
Mr. Naz cautioned, “Sir, this conclusion is too hasty. Even though we are still struggling with the PMS price, saying that the queue days are a thing of the past when they are yet to saturate the market and regulate prices is quite hasty.”
