A former President of the country, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that sinister forces are working against the success of the $20 billion Dangote Refinery.

Obasanjo made the remark in a recent interview with the Financial Times.

According to Obasanjo, powerful cabals in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector are determined to frustrate the refinery’s progress because it threatens their lucrative business of importing refined petrol.

“Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria.

“If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated,” Obasanjo said.

He added, “I believe we made a very, very deadly mistake. We put all our eggs in one basket of oil. We even ignored gas. We were flaring gas, which is a very important commodity

“We ignored agriculture, which should have been the centrepiece of our economic development.”

The former president’s warning comes at a time when the Dangote Refinery is grappling with a crisis in crude oil supply.

Despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive last week to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to sell crude to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in Naira, the refinery’s challenges persist.