Let me be great
Is NNPC the weapon fashioned against Nigerians?
Rise and shine, Big Brains. Capitalism awaits you! I can’t believe the holiday is over *pretends to be shocked*. Anyway, we’ve got all the talking points you need to stun at work today so get into it!
- Margaret
Word count: ~1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Dangote Refinery and NNPC clash over prices as new fuel rates surge
FG set to review current economic reforms and policies at 30th economic summit
Trump escapes second assassination attempt in two months as FBI launches investigation
The Big Deal
Dangote Refinery and NNPC clash over prices as new fuel rates surge
There’s drama and there’s whatever the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Dangote Refinery are doing.
ICYMI, the refinery officially started delivering its first batch of fuel to distributors on Sunday, September 15. We sighed in relief at this point because we thought the month-long drama had finally ended. Wrong! There’s a whole new season and it’s even more interesting than the previous “Will they? Will they not?” drama that went on for months.
On Monday, just a couple hours after Dangote Refinery started supplying fuel to NNPCL, the national oil company raised petrol prices by 11%. This is the second increase in just two weeks. In its defence, NNPCL said it bought petrol at ₦898 per litre from the refinery. While some Nigerians were trying to understand what happened to the “Dangote Refinery will make petrol cheaper” promise, Dangote Refinery released a long statement debunking NNPCL’s claims of selling its petrol for ₦898 per litre.
If we’re keeping things cute, Dangote Refinery said “haters are going to hate” but if we’re being literal, it was more along the lines of “NNPLCL’s claim is both misleading and mischievous.”
The refinery’s PR team pointed out that its crude is imported and paid for in dollars, and told Nigerians to ignore the “nasty rumour” until President Tinubu’s committee officially announces the real price.
NNPCL fired back almost immediately, insisting the price is indeed ₦898 per litre. The company’s spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, even dared Dangote Refinery to show receipts, promising that any “discount” they offer would be fully passed on to the public.
It’s been radio silence from the refinery since then but NNPCL has set the official price of fuel according to September’s pricing template at ₦950.22 per litre in Lagos, ₦960.22 in Oyo, ₦980.22 in Rivers, ₦992.22 in Abuja, and ₦999.22 in Kaduna, Kano, and Sokoto. The price will be highest in Borno at ₦1,019 per litre.
Why is this a big deal?
If Dangote is upset about this current mess after months of going back and forth with NNPCL, he’d go and sip Mai Tai on a private island. But if average Nigerians are upset that the functioning refinery they’ve been advocating for wouldn’t make any difference in the rising cost of living, all we can do is “deal with it”.
Under normal circumstances, the launch of the Dangote refinery would have caused a drop in fuel prices but it was previously announced that the refinery will only sell petrol to NNPCL, so interested marketers will need to go through the national oil company to get their supply. NNPCL is controlled by leaders who aren’t exactly known for being honest and these are the decision makers who control prices.
From the look of things, Dangote himself seems to be a pawn in the game or just a businessman who’s trying to secure his bag. As for the hope of buying fuel at a cheaper price, you might want to be a bit more pessimistic because power hasn’t and probably won’t be changing hands anytime soon.
FG set to review current economic reforms and policies at 30th economic summit
While NNPCL and Dangote are still figuring out their shit, Nigeria is getting ready to address its economic troubles at the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES-30), or so we hope.
This summit is hosted by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). According to Senator Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, this year’s summit is about finding “real solutions”.
Bagudu is leading the charge to address Nigeria’s economic reality. To do this, he and other experts will focus on five key areas - making development more inclusive, boosting business energy, improving security, driving innovation, and promoting stakeholder collaboration.
After implementing debatably smart policies like the multiple hikes of the Monetary Policy Rates (MPR) and the removal of fuel subsidies, many Nigerians no longer have any confidence in the Tinubu-led administration. Many Nigerians except Bagudu (who’s paid to be confident in Tinubu).
He believes that the summit will lay out a clear plan to get Nigeria’s economy back on track and strengthen its global position. They’ll also be figuring out how to turn Nigeria’s youthful population into a powerful economic force and find ways to improve leadership and governance. We love the enthusiasm but like every other Nigerian, we hope to see some workings.
Trump escapes second assassination attempt in two months as FBI launches investigation
It’s not just the dogs, cats and pets they’re eating in the United States, even the head of presidential aspirant Donald Trump, who we credit for the discovery of this carnivorous act, is no longer safe.
On Sunday, the FBI began investigating what it described as an "attempted assassination" of former President Donald Trump after Secret Service agents shot at a man with an AK-47 rifle near Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.
Recall that Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in July. The new attack shows that there’s a real threat to Trump’s life.
Trump’s team confirmed that he is "safe," and law enforcement sources said the suspect is in custody.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw reported that the gunman came within 300 to 500 yards of Trump before agents fired four to six shots. The suspect then dropped his weapon and fled but was later captured after authorities tracked his vehicle using its license plate.
Authorities found an AK-47-style rifle and two backpacks containing a GoPro camera and ceramic tiles at the scene. Sheriff Bradshaw noted that security around the golf course was limited because Trump is not the current president, but future visits are expected to have enhanced security.
Trump reassured supporters in a fundraising email that he was unharmed and declared his resolve is stronger than ever.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also briefed on the situation and expressed relief that Trump was safe.
This Week’s Big Question
“Are you interested in voting in 2027, or would you rather not be in Nigeria to see what happens?”
Wale’s response - “Come, do you people know that I’ve not recovered from the last election? I forced everybody in my life to get their PVC and what came out of it? Please, I’ll be voting from the UK”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Wale’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Okonjo-Iweala To Seek Second Term As WTO DG: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization, will seek reappointment for a second four-year term when her current mandate ends next August, her spokesman announced on Monday.
Tinubu Visits Maiduguri, Assures Flood Victims Of FG’s Support: President Bola Tinubu arrived in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday to sympathize with the government and people of the state over the recent flood disaster.
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