See more as Dangote sends message to NNPC, marketers on fuel importation

3 weeks ago 101

Dangote has called on NNPC Limited and marketers to buy petrol from his refinery, as there is enough supply
He stated that the refinery already has a large quantity of the product in storage, and it is costing a lot to keep it
Nigeria currently operates a deregulated petroleum market, allowing marketers to either buy from Dangote or from abroad

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Refinery, has called on the The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and fuel marketers to patronize his refinery’s products.

According to him, the refinery has enough product to address the country’s fuel scarcity, while stressing that there is no need for continued fuel imports.

Dangote disclosed this at the State house on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 following a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Nigeria's richest man stressed that the refinery’s capacity to supply local demand but noted that marketers have not been collecting available fuel from the facility.

His words:

“We are producers “I have a refinery; I’m not in the retail business. If I were, you could hold me responsible for distribution. "But as things stand, the retailers should come forward and collect the products we have in stock. It’s costly for us to keep millions of liters sitting in our tanks.”

Dangote further expressed his frustration with the financial impact of storing excess fuel at the refinery, saying:

"Each day that fuel sits idle in storage, I incur losses that I could otherwise reinvest. Currently, I’m losing the equivalent of 32% interest on the value of this fuel due to delays in distribution. The government and marketers should leverage our local supply to prevent queues at filling stations.”

He urged the NNPC and other stakeholders to source petrol from his facility.

“If they’re already distributing imported fuel, they can easily do the same with ours,” he stated. “We have the infrastructure for them to come and load the product. Once they pick up the fuel, they can handle distribution as usual.”