Nigerian investigative journalist David Hundeyin has raised serious allegations against an international NGO, known as Dialogue Earth, accusing them of attempting to commission a smear campaign targeting the Dangote Refinery under the pretext of environmental concerns.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Hundeyin disclosed that the foreign NGO, previously known as China Dialogue Trust, offered him 800,000 Naira (about $500) to craft an article focused on environmental issues surrounding Nigeria’s first major oil refinery.
Hundeyin asserts that the implied, though unstated, objective was to create a pretext for the Nigerian government to potentially shut down or restrict the refinery’s operations, citing “energy transition commitments” and “environmental policy.”
This revelation is coming on the heel of the recent accusations by the management of the 650,000 barrel per day petrochemical plant that international oil companies (IOCs) are working against the success of the refinery.
Meanwhile, Hundeyin revealed that he initially agreed to the offer to collect evidence of the NGO’s true intentions.
“Last week, I received an N800,000 offer from an international NGO called Dialogue Earth (formerly known as China Dialogue Trust) to write an article essentially saying that Dangote Refinery is terrible for the environment because something something “Environmental Concerns,” something something “Climate Change,” something something “Energy Transition Policy,” something something “COP 28.”
“The (unstated but clearly implied) thrust of the brief was for a prominent local voice to put their name on an article that is an argument or a premise for the Nigerian government to kill the refinery based on its “energy transition commitments” and “environmental policy.”
“This conclusion wasn’t immediately apparent when they reached out to me, but I suspected where it was heading, and I quickly accepted the offer so that I could see the brief and obtain hard evidence,” Hundeyin said.
He has since released screenshots of the brief he received, which he claims validate his suspicions.
Meanwhile, Nairametrics cannot independently verify these claims.
The post which had over a million impression on X was also retweeted by notable Nigerians such as Femi Otedola, among others.
As of this press time, Dialogue Earth has not publicly responded to these allegations.
NGO mobilizing Campaign against Refinery
In addition, Hundeyin, who revealed the names and those allegedly behind the foreign organization, said the move is part of the global campaign to smear what they described as “African first working refinery,”.
He noted that the refinery, which could decrease West Africa’s dependence on imported fuel and improve fuel quality control, is being targeted while earlier environmental concerns were largely overlooked.
“Basically, this London-based NGO is headed by Sam Geall, an Oxford professor and is funded by several American intelligence fronts such as Ford Foundation and ClimateWorks (which is blacklisted in India for funding organisations working against India’s national interest).
“For whatever reason, it is now quietly mobilising a resistance campaign against what it describes as “Nigeria’s first refinery.”
“Apparently, the status quo of Africa’s largest oil producer having no functioning oil refinery to beneficiate its own oil was not a problem for Dialogue Earth and the American CIA fronts who fund it,” Hundeyin alleged.
What you should know
The Dangote Refinery has recently found itself at the center of multiple conflicts, particularly with international oil companies and national oil regulators.
In an interview with CNN, CEO Aliko Dangote expressed his surprise at discovering that the “mafia in the oil industry” is even more powerful than those in the drug cartel, highlighting the level of sabotage the project has faced.
At one point, Dangote even offered to sell the refinery to the national oil company, stating that if they wanted to run it, they should take it over.
The 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery is designed to reduce Nigeria’s and other African nations’ reliance on imported petrol from Europe and America—a move that some believe could disrupt the economic dominance of the Western oil market.
Dangote emphasized that the refinery will not only address Nigeria’s oil challenges but also serve as a strategic reserve for the country’s petrol industry.
