A report by the TheCable has identified a member of President Bola Tinubu’s Economic Council, Abdulkabir Adisa Aliu, as a key figure behind Nigeria’s recent surge in petrol imports from Malta and Russia.
Aliu, who owns Matrix Energy, has reportedly been importing significant volumes of petroleum products into Nigeria, with over 200,000 tonnes of petrol from Malta alone being discharged at the Matrix jetty in Warri, Delta State, in July 2024.
Confidential sources reveal that Matrix Energy has been leveraging connections with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) to secure crude oil allocations, which are then traded by Gulf Transport & Trading, a UAE-based firm.
The products imported through Malta and Russia, including diesel that is often off-spec, are blended and sold in Nigeria, raising concerns about fuel quality and its impact on vehicles and equipment.
Nigeria has recently seen a significant increase in fuel imports from Malta, following revelations by Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
In 2023, the country’s petroleum imports from Malta skyrocketed to $2.8 billion, a sharp rise from zero between 2017 and 2022, and just $13.32 million in 2016.
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Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), quickly denied Dangote’s claim, asserting that he had no interest in any plant in Malta.
Matrix Energy, which owns three ships—Matrix Pride, Matrix Triumph, and Matrix S.ILU—allegedly loads diesel products exported from Russia in Lome, Togo.
It is believed that the diesel is typically off-spec and is often corrected through blending in locations like Lome and Malta.
However, documents indicate that in June, about 15,000 tonnes of diesel from Russia were transloaded into Matrix Triumph and Matrix Pride without corrections and discharged at the Matrix jetty in Warri and the Obat Oil terminal.
The products from Malta are reportedly transported through intermediate ships and companies like Poly Pro Trading, registered in the Dubai Free Trade Zone, which lacks a physical presence.
Malta has become a key European destination for blending and ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products since the Greek navy ceased such activities.
About 35% of shipments into Malta are blended to produce lower quality “African Spec” gasoline, which is then sold in Nigeria, causing frequent vehicle and equipment breakdowns.