Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has said former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, deserve credit for creating the conditions that enabled the establishment of the Dangote Refinery, rather than the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Oseni made the remarks on Monday while reacting to claims by the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS, Zacch Adedeji, about the economic achievements of the Tinubu administration.
Adedeji had appeared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, where he highlighted increased government revenue, higher allocations to states and the growing contribution of the Dangote Refinery to domestic fuel supply.
But Oseni argued that the refinery was largely enabled by policies and economic conditions under the Buhari administration, particularly the relative stability of the naira during Emefiele’s tenure as CBN governor.
According to him, the stability of the naira at the time helped Aliko Dangote finance and complete the multi-billion-dollar refinery project. He therefore rejected claims that the refinery should be regarded as an achievement of the Tinubu administration.
Oseni also questioned the government’s handling of crude oil supply to the refinery, alleging that Dangote still has to source Nigerian crude from the international market despite commitments to supply the facility locally.
The broadcaster acknowledged that the Tinubu administration had recorded some economic gains but argued that its achievements should be assessed alongside the impact of its policies on households and businesses.
He cited the losses suffered by the corporate sector from foreign-exchange challenges and the broader decline in economic purchasing power, saying the government must also account for the cost borne by ordinary Nigerians.
Oseni further challenged Adedeji’s claim that fuel subsidy would have cost the country about 53 trillion naira and that the naira-dollar exchange rate could have reached 3,500 naira per dollar without Tinubu’s intervention. He said the argument should also consider the revenue Nigerians have lost to inflation.
In a post on X, Oseni asked the NRS chairman to provide figures showing the impact of inflation, which stood at 15.91 percent in June 2026, to give a more balanced assessment of the administration’s economic performance. Adedeji has also recently faced criticism over remarks about President Tinubu’s personal lifestyle, including claims that the President walks to the office and eats once a day.
