President of Dangote Industries Restricted, Aliko Dangote, has clarified that the latest discount within the value of Premium Motor Spirit, generally often known as petrol, to N899.50 per litre at its loading gantry was primarily pushed by the complicated dynamics of market forces.
He additionally stated it’s his duty to safeguard each the pursuits and the investments of the multibillion greenback firm.
The enterprise tycoon made these statements throughout an interview in an Come up TV documentary posted on YouTube and obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday.
He stated, “The value discount is a response to the market, let me simply put it that method. It’s a refinery the place we invested over $20bn and I believe now we have to try to shield our pursuits and likewise our investments.”
On December 19, 2024, the Dangote refinery decreased the ex-depot value of its petrol from N970 to N899.50 per litre.
This sparked intense pricing competitors within the downstream sector, forcing the NNPCLto to scale back its ex-depot value to N899 per litre.
Equally, the refinery introduced its partnership with MRS Petrol station to promote petrol from its stores nationwide at N935 per litre, to the delight of Nigerians.
Talking additional within the interview, Dangote reiterated that the 650,000 barrels per day refinery won’t solely rework Nigeria’s oil sector but in addition the nation’s complete financial system.
He confused that when the nation imports petroleum merchandise, there may be extra stress on international alternate.
“40 per cent of our demand on international alternate is thru folks dealing in petroleum merchandise and the extra we enable imports to return in, not as a result of I are not looking for imports, however the extra we enable imports to return in, the extra we preserve utilizing most of our international alternate overseas as a result of the vast majority of these letters of credit score open for petroleum merchandise and the products usually are not coming into Nigeria,” he stated.
“There’s nothing you’d do that you just gained’t get criticism for. However I believe we can not additionally management folks from talking their minds.”
Dangote reiterated that he was open to criticism, including that within the historical past of Nigeria, within the final 100 years, “no one has put in $20bn in any venture”.
“Criticism won’t cease us from persevering with with what we’re doing. I did this venture due to my love for my nation and to ensure that I’ve a legacy venture. If I invested this cash in Google or Apple, my funding could be extra, and I wouldn’t be having the headache that I’m having at the moment.
“So, I believe it’s patriotism that made me do that. I might reasonably go away a legacy behind. I’m not a wealthy man. I’m a rich man. And rich folks, what they do is to create work for the generality of individuals, to not amass money for themselves.”
He additional described the $1bn funding by the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm within the refinery as “a drop within the ocean.”
“In 2021, after we signed the settlement, even should you give us $1bn, $1bn is a drop within the ocean in a $20bn refinery,” Dangote stated.
“When NNPC stated, ‘Give us yet another 12 months, we wish to change the settlement, we might reasonably pay you money,’ as a result of folks didn’t perceive this situation concerning the $2 deduction on the crude.
“Can we ensure that there’s readability round it? So what would you like? In order that they stated they’d pay us money, and we must always give them yet another 12 months.
“We gave them yet another 12 months. So from June final 12 months to June this 12 months. So on June 4th or fifth, I referred to as NNPC they usually gave us per week.”
Dangote stated someday later, the NNPC determined to again out of the transaction abruptly when the cost was due.
“I stated, okay, advantageous. We simply walked away and we simply continued. However we nonetheless went forward, we completed our refinery. Our refinery is working,” he stated.
Talking additional, Dangote stated it is rather “cheeky and nasty for the one that ever got here up with that nonsense, saying that NNPC gave us $1bn to help us in our liquidity disaster”.
He added that “it’s not true; these are only a bunch of lies”.
On his half, the Vice President, Dangote Industries Ltd., Devakumar Edwin, revealed that the ability now refines 350,000 barrels of crude per day.
“The complete capability is 650,000 barrels per day; what we are actually doing goes round 350,000 as a result of the thought is, until I begin the refinery in full, there is no such thing as a level for me to be pushing on the manufacturing degree as a result of the complete refinery is operational, we will likely be getting cash.
“Properly, the Nigerian crude manufacturing is greater than double our necessities. So there may be greater than accessible crude inside Nigeria,” he stated.
