Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has given insights on the pricing disagreement that occurred with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) earlier this month.
NNPC’s spokesperson Olufemi Soneye had said Dangote refinery sold fuel to the company at N898 per litre. But Dangote Group said the statement was “misleading and mischievous”.
Addressing the issue in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York on Monday, president/CEO of Dangote Group said: “There wasn’t really a disagreement, per se. NNPC bought from us on the 15th of September at the international price, which they also bought, about 800,000 metric tons of gasoline imported. So the one that they bought from us actually is cheaper than the one they are importing.
“And so when they announced our price, the guy, I don’t know whether he was authorised. It wasn’t really the real price. What they have announced is most likely that is what it cost them, including profit and other expenses.
“And then the other one is one that they imported. But the people don’t know how much they spend in terms of imports, but their importation is almost, maybe about 15 per cent more expensive than ours, you know.
“So what they are supposed to do is to sell at a basket price, or if they want to remove subsidy, they can announce that they will remove subsidy, which is okay, everybody you know will adjust it.”
Dangote also said that now is the best time for the Federal Government to stop subsidising fuel.
According to him, his $20 billion refinery in Lagos will help determine the actual petrol consumption in the country and also ease pressures on the naira.
He said, “Subsidy is a very sensitive issue. Once you are subsidising something then people will bloat the price and then the government will end up paying what they are not supposed to be paying. It is the right time to get rid of subsidies.
“But this refinery will resolve a lot of issues out there, you know, it will show the real consumption of Nigeria, because, you know, nobody can tell you. Some people say 60 million litres of gasoline per day.
“Some say, it’s less. But right now, if you look at it by us producing, everything can be counted. So everything can be accounted for, particularly for most of the trucks or ships that will come to load from us. We are going to put a tracker on them to be sure they are going to take the oil within Nigeria, and that, I think, can help the government save quite a lot of money. I think it is the right time, you know, to remove the subsidy.”
Although, President Bola Tinubu announced the end of fuel subsidy when he took office in May 2023, several persons have alleged the government still pays subsidy. But the authorities have severally debunked the claims.
Dangote also confirmed ownership of two oil blocks in the upstream sector with an expected production date of next month.
