A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticized the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for its growing dependence on the Dangote Refinery, questioning the fate of public refineries despite massive government investment.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, the human rights lawyer addressed the broader implications of the Middle East crisis on Nigeria’s economy but pivoted to what he described as a local failure.
“The NNPC now solely relies on Dangote Refinery. Is this how to run a country? After pouring money down the drain, $2.9 billion was spent on maintaining our four refineries,” Falana lamented.
He further questioned the lack of accountability surrounding the expenditure, adding, “Nobody is talking about that. Now it’s all about Dangote! How much crude oil are we giving to Dangote?”
Falana’s remarks come amid heightened global tensions, as the ongoing conflict between the US and Israel against Iran continues to unsettle the Middle East—a key region for global fuel distribution.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
