MUSLIM RIGHTS CONCERN (MURIC)
هيئة حقوق المسلمين
Motto: Dialogue, Not Violence
24th March, 2026
PRESS RELEASE:
RATIONING CRUDE OIL FOR LOCAL
REFINERIES RIDICULOUS – MURIC
A rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has
described the rationing of crude oil to local refineries as ridiculous. The
group insists that local refineries should be supplied enough crude oil in
order to facilitate reduction in the price of fuel.
MURIC's description came in a statement circulated to newsmen
on Tuesday, 24th March, 2026. The statement was signed by the group's Executive
Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
He said:
"As war in the Middle East rages with the concomitant
economic impact on people's lives, Nigeria has found itself caught in the
quagmire. The price of fuel has hit the roof with some petrol stations selling
as high as N1,400 per litre compared to the pre-war price of N820 only.
"The question is why
should fuel cost so much in Nigeria even if there is war in far away Iran when
we have crude oil and functional refineries? We were compelled to set the
machinery in motion in a bid to find an answer to this vital question.
"Our findings reveal a
paradoxical and totally baffling scenario. We discovered that the local
refineries have been stinted of crude oil. The same crude oil which Nigeria has
in excess is being rationed to our local refineries. This is ridiculous and
unacceptable.
Exempli gratia, whereas
Dangote Refinery needs an average of 19.77 million barrels per month, it
receives a paltry percentage of what it requires for normal operation, e. g.
October 2025: 4.55 million barrels; November 2025: 6.45 barrels; December 2025:
4.30 million barrels; January 2026: 5.65 million barrels; February 2026: 4.66
million barrels and 3.60 million barrels this March (up to 15th March 2026).
"This rationing system is inexplicable. Ceteris paribus,
local refineries should be supplied enough crude oil in order to facilitate
reduction in the price of fuel. Why ration crude oil for local refineries when
Nigeria has 37.28 billion barrels in reserve and it is the largest oil producer
in Africa?
"Samuel Taylor Coleridge may have visualised the Nigerian
petroleum architecture when he wrote his 1798 poem, The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner, 'Water, water everywhere but not any drop to drink'.
"This should not happen unless there is a force majeure
compelling such rationing though the government has not opened up on this. Or
is it true that Nigeria's crude oil has been sold upfront for several years by
previous regimes? Have they mortgaged our future?
"How can a local refinery function to its maximum capacity
in such a strangulating environment? How can our local refineries fulfil their
obligation to Nigerians with this stifling stronghold?bFor example, Dangote
Refinery now buys Nigerian crude oil through middlemen in London, Dubai, etc at
higher price (https://viewfinderng.com/how-nigerian-crude-oil-sold-to-dangote-refinery-through-london-dubai-middle-men-at-higher-price/).
"No wonder, therefore, that the refinery has reportedly
threatened to sell all its pproducts outside the country (https://punchng.com/fresh-fuel-import-licences-trigger-dangote-export-threat/?amp).
"There is an urgent
need to prevent this from happening and the only person who can do that is
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This should not pose a challenge because the
president is known for his bold approach to economic issues and this has been very
effective in stopping the subsidy scam and stabilizing the naira.
"MURIC therefore
appeals to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give marching orders to NMDPRA to
supply all the crude oil needs of local refineries.
"Nigerians should not be made to go back to the dark days
of importation of fuel at a time that European countries are turning to Dangote
for their fuel needs (https://businessday.ng/news/article/europe-turns-to-dangote-refinery-as-jet-fuel-crisis-deepens/).
#StopRationingCrudeOil
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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