The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has refuted claims that any NNPC personnel own or operate a blending plant in Malta.
Kyari has called on Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, to publicly disclose the names of any NNPC employees involved in such activities.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Kyari stated, “To clarify the allegations regarding the blending plant, I do not own or operate any business directly or by proxy anywhere in the world with the exception of a local mini Agric venture. Neither am I aware of any employee of the NNPC, that owns or operates a blending plant in Malta or anywhere else in the world.”
This statement comes in response to comments made by Dangote, who claimed over the weekend that some NNPC personnel and oil traders were operating a blending plant in Malta, hindering local production of petroleum products.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man and owner of a $20bn refinery in Lagos, argued that the quality of products from his refinery surpasses those imported by marketers.
“The bad fuel imported into the country has damaged many cars. I still stand by what I said. Go to filling stations, you can check the quality. That is the only way,” Dangote stated.
“We know where they blend these things. Some of the NNPC people and some traders have opened a blending plant somewhere off Malta. We all know these areas. We know what they are doing.”
In his response, Kyari urged Dangote to provide specific names.
“A blending plant in Malta or any part of the world has no influence over NNPC’s business operations and strategic actions,” he said.
“For further assurance, our compliance sanction grid shall apply to any NNPC employee who is established to be involved in doing so if availed and I strongly recommend that such individuals be declared public and be made known to relevant government security agencies for necessary actions in view of the grave implications for national energy security.”
Last December, Dangote commenced operations at his massive refinery in Lagos, which aims to achieve a full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.
The refinery has already begun supplying diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in Nigeria, with petrol supply expected to start in August, despite facing regulatory challenges.