The Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) has accused the Federal Government of deliberate moves to sabotage Dangote Refinery for unnecessarily issuing Petroleum Import Licenses to some business groups.

Speaking to journalists in Kano, the President of KACCIMA, Ambassador Hassan Darma, expressed concern over the Federal Government’s recent issuance of import licenses for the Petroleum products, insisting that the action is nothing but a clear attack on the indigenous Dangote Refinery who has the full capacity to supply the Nation and even beyond.

“One could understand the reasons behind Federal Government actions at a time when Dangote Refinery is not only supplying the Nation but even exporting to outside Nigeria. He noted that Dangote Group remains one of the leading indigenous business entities in Nigeria, providing employment opportunities to thousands of Nigerians across various sectors of the economy, so any attempt to sabotage it would hurt the Nation.

Ambassador Darma warned that the unresolved issues surrounding the refinery could negatively affect the company’s operations and may eventually force it to scale down its workforce. According to him, unemployment remains one of the major drivers of insecurity in the country, stressing that government policies and actions should be geared towards creating and sustaining jobs rather than triggering situations that could worsen unemployment.

“If some people feel that Dangote has monopolized the Petroleum Industry sector, given the licenses to import would be counterproductive, rather, they should also come as individuals or groups to set up their own indigenous Refineries, so that there would be competition in the market.

He added, “alternatively, the government should repair their collapsed four Refineries so that the government would be on while challenging the private sector. The KACCIMA president further urged the Federal Government to take decisive steps in addressing corruption challenges within the Oil Sector.