David Hundeyin, a Nigerian journalist accused Dialogue Earth, a London-based international not-for-profit organization of conspiring to influence the Nigerian government to undermine the Dangote Refinery.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, @DavidHundeyin, Hundeyin claimed that Dialogue Earth offered him ₦800,000 to write an article that would emphasize the refinery’s supposed environmental risks and its impact on Nigeria’s energy transition goals.
“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,” he said in a post.
A media report revealed that Hundeyin alleged that Dialogue Earth, supported by ClimateWorks was blacklisted in India for funding organizations against India’s national interest is collaborating with foreign interests to obstruct the refinery’s benefits for West Africa.
According to Hundeyin, a group of external and internal interests is working to undermine the refinery, which he believes could serve half a billion West Africans. He shared that he had accepted the offer from Dialogue Earth to obtain evidence and posted screenshots of the brief on X.
Hundeyin further claimed that the iNGO, led by Oxford professor Sam Geall, is backed by organizations funded by American intelligence, including the Ford Foundation and ClimateWorks. He suggested that these western interests, benefiting from Africa’s lack of functioning oil refineries, are resisting the success of initiatives like the Dangote Refinery.
He concluded by warning against dismissing these claims as conspiracy theories, arguing that American and European interests are actively working to keep Africa impoverished to maintain their global dominance.
Energy Afrique reports that Dangote Refinery accused some international organisations and some Nigerian government officials of deliberately trying to sabotage the $20 billion investment by Africa’s richest man. However, the government and regulatory bodies have denied these claims.
