The Federal Government has called on host communities in Ogun and Ondo States to give maximum support to the proposed Dangote Industrial City and Deep Seaport project.

The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, represented by the Director of Assessment at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Rofikat Adebukunola Odetoro at the combined Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) site visit, commended the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) for its commitment to environmental sustainability and inclusive stakeholder engagement.

He described the investments as a transformative initiative that will create opportunities for economic growth and community development.

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Speaking during the three-day assessment tour across Ode-Omi Waterside Community in Ogun State and Araromi Community in Ondo State, Lawal expressed satisfaction with the level of community consultations and groundwork undertaken to ensure the project aligns with environmental regulations and the interests of host communities.

He stressed the need for inclusive dialogue, urging traditional rulers and community leaders not to overlook women and children during consultations. “I urge you to factor women into every engagement. Women and children are as important as every other member of the community and they have unique needs that must not be ignored. Please give this project every support possible. It presents enormous opportunities for youths, women, and children to benefit from employment and the mandatory corporate social responsibility initiatives that will accompany it.”

Speaking during the community engagement at Araromi Seaside Kingdom, Managing Director, Infrastructure and Logistics, Dangote Industries Limited, Capt. Jamil Abubakar assured the indigenes of transparency, fairness, and continuous engagement throughout the project’s implementation.

According to him, the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, is committed to ensuring Africa becomes more self-sufficient through strategic infrastructure investments.

“Our President is committed to positioning Africa for greater self-sufficiency, and Araromi has been chosen as the location where one of the world’s biggest deep seaports will be built. We are excited about the prospects of this project. We are here to listen to the community’s concerns and work together to achieve a win-win outcome for every stakeholder involved,” he said.

Abubakar further disclosed that Aliko Dangote had directed the project team to carry out a comprehensive needs assessment of the host communities and provide critical interventions regardless of the project’s stage of development.

Presenting the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Group Lead, Environment and Sustainability, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Adeyemi Adun, said the study was designed to establish the current environmental and socio-economic baseline of the host communities before project execution. He explained that the assessment would evaluate the quality of air, water and soil, as well as the socio-economic conditions of residents, in line with Federal Ministry of Environment guidelines.

“This phase of the project is intended to establish the current status of the community in terms of air quality, water resources, soil conditions, and socio-economic indicators, as required by the Federal Ministry of Environment. We also assure you that this project will have a positive impact on your communities, just as Dangote Industries has done in other host communities across the country”, Adun added.

A representative of the Ondo State Commissioner for Environment and Director of the Environmental Assessment Department, Isaac Ojo, welcomed the commencement of the assessment process, describing it as inclusive and beneficial to all stakeholders.

“We are delighted that this process has begun and that it accommodates every stakeholder. We are confident the project will benefit the communities, and we encourage everyone to give the Dangote team the maximum support required for its success”, Ojo said.

The Alara of Araromi Seaside Kingdom, Oba Adeoloye Olawole, also expressed strong support for the project, describing Aliko Dangote as “a genius” whose investments would accelerate the development of the kingdom. “We are counting on Aliko Dangote to help develop our kingdom. He is a genius, and we are ready to provide every support necessary to ensure the success of this project. We have always maintained that our community is peaceful, cooperative, and committed to progress. We want him to help develop our land as he doing all over Africa,” the monarch added.

The assessment tour brought together officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment, representatives of Ogun and Ondo State Ministries of Environment, local government officials, traditional rulers, faith-based leaders, community representatives, and officials of Dangote Industries Limited. Stakeholders held extensive discussions on their respective roles in ensuring the successful delivery of what is projected to become Africa’s largest deep seaport.

Communiques were drafted and signed by stakeholders at the end of each engagement at Ode Omi and Araromi, which drew hundreds of indigenes from across the surrounding communities. Consultants have also mobilised to the project site for the ESIA sample surveys.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it will commence a joint industry-wide audit of in-country manufacturing and service capacities in the third quarter of 2026.

The move, according to the agency, is designed to eliminate intermediaries from Nigeria’s oil and gas contracting process and channel business directly to qualified local companies.

Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, announced the initiative on Monday at the 25th Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja.

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Ogbe said the audit is part of a harmonised industry framework jointly developed over the past year by the NCDMB, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NIPEX), and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS).

According to him, the participating organisations have agreed to modify their certification portals ahead of the exercise, which will establish a unified assessment of the capabilities of Nigerian manufacturers and service providers operating in the oil and gas industry.

“The outcome of the in-country capacity audit will provide a detailed understanding of existing capabilities, eliminate intermediaries, improve contracting cycle timelines, and ensure direct patronage of established service providers for business sustainability and growth,” Ogbe said.

He explained that the audit would also provide regulators and industry operators with credible data to guide investment decisions, technology partnerships, financing support and future policy interventions.

Ogbe disclosed that while the audit would help identify companies capable of participating in seven major deepwater projects expected in the industry, it would also support smaller indigenous firms through a new five-tier classification framework.

Under the framework, companies categorised as “Emerging Players” and “Essential Vendors” will benefit from a structured vendor development programme aimed at transforming them into manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The programme, he said, will identify high-potential local vendors, assess their readiness for manufacturing, facilitate technical partnerships, improve access to financing and connect them with guaranteed market opportunities.

Ogbe noted that the next phase of Nigeria’s local content policy must move beyond compliance to focus on industrialisation, manufacturing and globally competitive Nigerian companies.

He added that although Nigerian content has grown from less than five per cent before the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010 to 61 per cent today.

The NCDMB boss maintained that sustaining that growth requires stronger collaboration across regulators, operators, financiers and manufacturers as well as reliable patronage for existing local capacities.

The petition filed by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) against the Federal Government over the issuance of fuel import licences to some petroleum marketers has suffered a setback because of the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The matter was listed for Monday but could not be called up as Justice Aneke was said to be indisposed, prompting the court to adjourn the matter until October 7 for hearing.

The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/857/2026, also involves the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and several petroleum marketing firms, including NIPCO, AA Rano, Matrix, Shafa, Pinnacle and Bono, which the refinery alleges benefited from the disputed import licences.

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The DPRP is asking the court to invalidate the fuel import licences allegedly issued or renewed in favour of the marketers and NNPC Ltd, contending that the approvals were granted in violation of an earlier court order.

The application, brought under Sections 6, 36(1) and 287 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Order 26 Rules 1 and 2 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, and the court’s inherent jurisdiction, seeks an order setting aside all import licences issued or renewed on or about May 6, 2026.

The refinery argues that the licences were granted despite the court’s April 29, 2026 order directing all parties to maintain the status quo as it existed on April 2, 2026.

In its defence, however, the NNPC Ltd urged the court to dismiss the suit, maintaining that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy empower the relevant regulatory authorities to issue fuel import licences whenever necessary to guarantee national supply.

The national oil company argued that there is no blanket prohibition on fuel imports, particularly where imports are required to ensure product availability and market stability.

The NNPC Ltd further accused the DPRP of attempting to monopolise Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market through the litigation.

According to the company, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) acted within its statutory powers in issuing the disputed licences, noting that the law permits such approvals for companies with local refining capacity or a proven track record in petroleum trading.

It also contended that the PIA does not impose a total ban on fuel imports except where there is a verified domestic surplus, insisting that importation remains a lawful tool for stabilising fuel supply and prices.

However, the DPRP on its part, argued that the continued issuance and renewal of import licences undermine local refining and violate Section 317(9) of the PIA, which it interprets as restricting imports to situations where there is a proven domestic supply shortfall.

The refinery maintained that with its installed refining capacity of about 650,000 barrels per day, Nigeria has sufficient domestic refining capacity to meet local demand. It relied on regulatory data which it said indicates that daily production of petrol and diesel now exceeds national consumption.

It added that the refinery was established to meet Nigeria’s refined petroleum needs while generating export surpluses, describing the project as a strategic national investment expected to create a multi-billion-dollar market for Nigerian crude oil.

THe NNPC Ltd, however, disputed those claims, arguing that Dangote had failed to present credible and verifiable evidence demonstrating that it could independently guarantee Nigeria’s fuel supply.

The legal dispute has since expanded following an application by the NMDPRA to join the proceedings, transforming the case into a broader challenge over Nigeria’s fuel import policy and the regulation of the downstream petroleum sector.

The DPRP further alleged that the NMDPRA, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the NNPC Ltd have created a hostile operating environment by continuing to issue import licences despite what it described as the absence of any domestic fuel supply shortfall.

The refinery further accused the NNPC Ltd of failing to supply it with adequate crude oil, claiming it receives only about five crude cargoes monthly instead of the 13 cargoes required to operate at full capacity, forcing it to source crude from the international market at higher costs.

The NNPC Ltd denied the allegation, insisting that crude oil allocation is based on operational, commercial, security and logistical considerations, rather than any attempt to frustrate the DPRP’s operations.

The company warned that restricting fuel import licences could expose Nigeria to supply disruptions, price volatility and threats to national energy security.

On its part, the DPRP maintained that continued fuel imports would undermine local refining, discourage investment and frustrate Nigeria’s long-term objective of achieving energy self-sufficiency.

As part of its reliefs, the refinery is seeking an interim injunction restraining the Attorney-General of the Federation and the relevant regulatory agencies from issuing or renewing import licences for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet A1 pending the determination of the suit, arguing that it would suffer irreparable financial and operational losses if the licences continue to be issued.