Don’t blame me for fuel queues — Dangote
…Says Refinery has capacity to end queues if marketers come to lift products
…As FG partners Afreximbank for naira-crude transactions
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has urged Nigerians not to blame him for the lingering fuel supply crisis in the country.
Addressing Journalists after meeting with President Bola Tinubu and the Implementation Committee of Sale of Crude and Refined Petroleum products in Abuja yesterday, Dangote stated that the refinery has the capacity to end queues in the county if marketers consistently buy Petroleum products from the refinery.
The African richest man further noted that the refinery produces enough petrol to meet local demand, revealing that around 500 million litres remain unclaimed by retailers.
He said, “We have sufficient crude supply and can produce over 30 million litres daily. At full capacity, we can meet the entire consumption needs. Currently, we have 500 million litres in our tanks, which could sustain the country for more than 12 days without any imports or production. We are fully prepared.”
Dangote also emphasised his commitment to the President, assuring that the refinery would supply a minimum of 30 million litres per day while increasing production. He pointed out that the issue of shortages and long queues at filling stations is due to marketers not coming forward to collect fuel from his refinery.
“One thing that you have to understand is that we are producers. I have a refinery. I’m not in the business of retail. If I’m in the business of retail then you hold me responsible. But what I’m saying is that the retailers should please come forward and pick, if they don’t come forward and pick, what do you want me to do?
“So, I don’t expect either the NNPC or the marketers to stop importing, but the truth is that they should come and pick because we have what they need. And you know, as they remove, I will be pumping. I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep half a billion litres inside our tank.
“It’s costing me money every day. If I can collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32 percent in interest. Right now, that’s what I’m losing. And we’re talking about 500 million litres, you know, I mean, we don’t print money.
“But the issue is that if they come and collect the product, then you will not see any queues in the filling stations. We have what it takes for them to come and collect. We are not retailers. We also don’t have trucks to send the products to the filling stations.
“We have a factory; we have where they can load. They should come and pick what we have… they have been doing that with importation. So, if they’ve been doing that with importation, if it’s true, they are doing 55 million litres, I see no reason why they won’t come and collect our own and distribute,” Dangote said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking, commended the Implementation Committee on the Naira-based sales of crude oil and refined products and asked the members to resolve any teething problems.
In a review meeting at the State House, the President said that using the Naira was conceived to remove the exchange rate hurdle.
“Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in Naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years.
“There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back to the old way of doing things,” the President stated.
President Tinubu said the various players in the oil sector, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPC Ltd) and the Dangote Refinery, should work to improve the economy and the livelihood of Nigerians.
The President urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation. He said this would enable the channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.
The President equally advised stakeholders to use Afreximbank as a settlement bank to resolve the Naira pricing for crude and refined products. Afreximbank is already on board as the financial adviser.
“The market must determine what we are doing. Once you allow the market to determine the profit and loss, independent marketers and the government side can meet on the worksheet. I want the issues resolved without future waste of time,” he said, adding, “We can have energy security, and the motivation for Alhaji Aliko Dangote will not be defeated. It will be more predictable on a medium and long-term basis.”
Other stakeholders who attended the meeting include Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, Prof. Benedict Oramah, the President and Chairman of the Board of Afrexim Bank, and Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and national planning and Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari.
The president’s Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, and the CEOs of NIMASA and Nigerian Ports Authority also attended, along with Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, head of Upstream Regulator, and Farouk Ahmed, head of Midstream & Downstream Regulator, NMDPRA.
