NewStats: 3,263,103 , 8,179,098 topics. Date: Wednesday, 04 June 2025 at 05:09 PM 5u23u

Nigeria was awash with news recently about the quantum leap in the quantity of fuel imports from Malta after revelations by Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

In 2023, Nigeria’s petroleum importation from Malta surged significantly to $2.8 billion, compared to zero between 2017 and 2022, and a mere $13.32 million in 2016.

Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), immediately denied Dangote’s claim, saying he did not have interest in any plant in Malta.

TheCable can now reveal the identity of one of the biggest importers via the tiny European country.

He is Abdulkabir Adisa Aliu, owner of Matrix Energy and member of the presidential economic coordination council (PECC).

In an interview with TheCable, however, Aliu strenuously denied any wrongdoing in his business practices and promised a full response to the newspaper’s questions.


‘SMALL PLAYER, BIG CONTRACTS’

In July 2024 alone, over 200,000 tonnes of petrol from Malta were discharged into the Matrix jetty in Warri, Delta state, according to an insider who shared confidential documents with TheCable.

“This represents about 25 percent of Nigeria’s monthly PMS consumption going to a relatively small player with only 150 retail stations,” the insider said.

The insider said Aliu is also leveraging his close relations with the top management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) to secure crude oil cargoes from the national oil company for his company.

“Crude cargoes are discretionarily allocated to Matrix Energy by the NNPC monthly,” the person familiar with the company’s operations said.

The crude allocations to Matrix are traded by Gulf Transport & Trading (GTT), a trading company ed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the insider.

“Two of the three crude cargoes of the recently launched Utapate grade were allocated to GTT,” the source said.

“The crude cargoes are typically sold at a $3 per barrel which translates to $3 million per cargo with no sweat. This implies a tax-free take of almost $150 million per year or N240 billion, at N1,600/$.”

On August 5, NNPC introduced the Utapate crude oil blend into the international market.

The new crude oil grade is from an oil mining lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL), an upstream subsidiary of NNPC.


‘FROM RUSSIA TO NIGERIA VIA MALTA AND LOME’

Matrix — which has three old ships (Matrix Pride, Matrix Triumph, and Matrix S.ILU) — reportedly loads diesel products exported from Russia in Lome, Togo.

It is understood that the diesel from Russia is typically off-spec and is often corrected in places like Lome and Malta through blending with other components.

However, on June 16, about 15,000 tonnes of diesel — loaded on May 26 from Novorossiysk, Russia, and transported by a vessel, MT Kallos — were reportedly transloaded into Matrix Triumph offshore Lome without corrections and discharged into Matrix jetty in Warri, Delta state, Nigeria, on June 21.

On June 19, another 15,000 tonnes were transloaded into Matrix Pride and then discharged into the Obat Oil terminal on June 22.

In documents seen by TheCable, the products from Malta were transported through intermediate ships and sometimes through intermediate companies like Poly Pro Trading ed in Dubai Free Trade Zone.

Their listed office at OneJLT Towers 05.015, Dubai, is a business centre without any physical presence, according to checks by TheCable.

“Malta is now the top European destination for blending and ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products ever since the Greek navy decided to stop such activities in their offshore zone,” the source said.

“About 35 percent of shipment into Malta is naphtha and other components which are blended into gasoline to produce lower quality ‘African Spec’. This lower quality spec is then transhipped into various vessels for delivery into Nigeria to be sold to unsuspecting public who suffer frequent vehicle and equipment breakdowns.”

An oil blending plant has no refining capability but can be used to blend re-refined oil (a used motor oil that has been treated to remove dirt, fuel, and water) with additives to create finished lubricant products.

https://www.thecable.ng/sources-how-tinubus-economic-council-member-imports-substandard-petrol-diesel-from-russia-malta/amp/

It is no more Oando? Is this another conjecture too?

Lobatan

Peter Obi was right for saying that Nigeria is a crime scene

Just imagine the level tinubu and his men could go to destroy this country with greed . Are they not satisfied with all the wealth of this country that they've stolen and stashed away in foreign lands ? What a useless president and cronies.

Thieves

COMRADES, only these miscreants and minions disturbing us on Nairaland will think otherwise because they're easily swayed by APC's lies and propaganda

Softmirror:
It is no more Oando? Is this another conjecture too?

There's no conjecture in the first place just plain mischief and criminal defamation.

Those criminal defamers knew that Oando was not the importer but chose to deceive those already ignorant and filled with hatred.

Even the PECC was inaugurated recently few months ago so the attempt to link importation and the PECC are misleading and part of the mischief by losers in the election last year. Malta sells cheap petrol so it makes sense to import from Malta.

We are busy cursing our selves on social media, we only knows how to post big grammar on social media.and they keep exploiting us dry

The werey want to shift blame.

Okay nah.

Dangote should learn how to compete with others. The monopoly that he has criminally forced on Nigerians for decades is over.

Imported Fuel will come in, he too should compete with the price of the imported Fuel.

If Tinubu no give his friends license to import Fuel, shey na him enemies he go give?

But is this a crime?

They deliberately import substandard products from Russia 🇷🇺 via Togo 🇹🇬 just to ripoff the unsuspecting public.

It will soon be open. Thank you Dangote for mentioning Malta

Meanwhile in 2027 election campaigns

To those Hatred filled rumor spreaders who refuse to use their intellect, I hope this helps.

Even when this reporter chose to include PBAT name, you can still learn sense.

From russia with love 💕

And so..?


Signed,

Onanuga

In other news...

"N8,000 can change the life of a youth who knows what he is doing" -- says Kashim Shettima

Ok

He is a member of Presidential Economic Destruction Council

Rubbish government....always giving us excuses for their ineptitude

This sounds like a cover-up diversionary story, i.e. placing someone inconsequential as the face of the real syndicate. Obviously Abdulkabir Adisa Aliu would be nicely compensated for this.

Given the massive leap in import figures from Malta, I strongly believe someone at the very top is behind the operation.

Toh

...

This is the reason Tinubu was desperate to rig this election. To impose corruption on the people.

Everyday, I just imagine us going back to 2015 b4 apc cancer came

We are not in a democracy, We are in a KLEPTOCRACY.

A government of CRIMINALS.

From top to bottom, thieves everywhere.

dre11:


https://www.thecable.ng/sources-how-tinubus-economic-council-member-imports-substandard-petrol-diesel-from-russia-malta/amp/

No wonder they are frustrating Dangote .
Useless people.

Noted.