Atiku advises caution amid Dangote-NUPRC crude supply dispute

Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for caution on the part of the federal government, over ongoing public arguments between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission over crude supply to the refinery.

In a series of posts on his X handle on Saturday, Atiku urged the federal government to ensure the success of the 650,000-capacity refinery.

“Each parent eagerly awaiting the arrival of a child will dutifully undertake the necessary measures to ensure that the nurturing and development of this precious blessing remain a primary focus,” he stated.

“With this understanding, I am cautious in considering any deliberate attempts to impede the progress of the Dangote Refinery, a significant private sector project positioned to meet our energy and forex needs.

“Alongside numerous fellow citizens of goodwill, I call upon all Nigerians to take resolute actions to provide reassurance that both internal and external forces are not collaborating to prevent us from reaping the benefits promised by this eagerly anticipated transformative endeavour,” he submitted.

The crude crisis rocking the Dangote oil refinery took a new turn on Friday, after the Dangote Group accused the NUPRC of failing to effectively enforce the domestic crude supply obligations.

Reacting, the NUPRC said that it facilitated the supply of over 29 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote from January to June 2024.

Dangote Refinery, however, said it did not receive any 29mb of crude.