Aliko Dangote, the CEO of Dangote Refinery, has addressed the growing fuel scarcity in Nigeria.
His latest statement highlights the worries of Nigerians over the real state of things with the sale of the petrol from Dangote Refinery.
Now Aliko Dangote is urging the NNPC and other marketers to load fuel from the refinery.
Speaking at the State House on Tuesday, Dangote stated that the refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has sufficient petrol available, but marketers have not been picking up the product.
Financial Losses
He emphasised that, as a producer, the refinery was not responsible for the scarcity, as it does not handle fuel distribution.
The business mogul also noted that the longer the petrol remains in the refinery’s storage, the more financial losses it incurs daily.
“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 can 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? There is nothing I can do.
“I’m expecting either NNPC or the marketers to stop importing and they should come and collect. We have what they need.
“As they remove, I will be pumping. I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep having millions of litres inside our tank. It’s costing me money.
“Every day, if I’ll be able to collect the naira, I can actually charge somebody 32% in interest.
“Right now, that is what I’m losing. And you’re talking about 500 billion. We don’t print money.
“The issue is that if they come to collect, you’ll not see any queues in the filling stations,” Dangote said.
Dangote Refinery To Meet Local Demand
Furthermore, Dangote stated that the refinery had the capacity to meet local demand, even if consumption reaches 55 million liters per day.
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He noted that since marketers were already importing petrol, it should not be an issue for them to source products from a local producer.
He emphasised that with the refinery’s products readily available, there was no valid reason for marketers not to pick up supplies from their facility.
“We have what it takes for them to come and collect.
“We are not retailer, and we also don’t have trucks to send. We have a factory for them to come and load.
“If they come and pick, they will then distribute.
“And they’ve been doing that with importation. So, if it’s true that they are doing 55 million liters, I see no reason why they won’t come and collect our own and distribute,” Dangote said.
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