We will eliminate fuel queues in Nigeria – Dangote

On Tuesday, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said petrol refined at the Dangote Refinery will help eliminate all the fuel queues in Nigeria.

Mr Dangote disclosed this in an interview with ARISE News on Tuesday at the refinery in Lagos.

On Monday, Devakumar Edwin, vice president at Dangote Industries Limited, said the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery has begun the processing of petrol.

Mr Edwin explained that The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Nigeria’s sole importer, would buy its product exclusively.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Dangote said this represents a very historic monumental achievement.

“This represents a very historic monumental achievement which I think I must congratulate the people of Nigeria and the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for giving us all the support to be where we are today.

“This achievement, really you are right, in the last 28 years, we haven’t really had this sort of achievement, but you can see that even there’s a video of 1974 in which we had fuel queues, and those fuel queues are still here.

“This will eliminate all fuel queues in Nigeria. This will improve the health of everybody, this will also make sure that there is consistent supply to the market, it will also bring the real demand of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), no paper transaction,” he said.

He explained that it will also help to make sure that it corrects the distortion of the naira while noting that it will bring stability, growth, and development.

“So, we want to thank Nigerians for being behind us to be where we are today, but this is a very very historic moment,” he said.

Commending President Tinubu for the naira for the crude initiative, Mr Dangote said the initiative would create stability for the naira, as it will address 40 per cent of the demand for dollars in the market.

Speaking further, he said the refined products from the refinery will be distributed in the Nigerian market, as soon as the company finalises arrangement with the NNPC Ltd.

“Today is a very special day, which I think Nigeria has not produced petrol, which is gasoline, for very many years. But I stand with you today, I would like to salute the people of Nigeria and the government of President Bola Tinubu for creating the environment for us to thrive and also achieve this monumental task of giving energy to our people for growth, development and prosperity.

“As you know, there’s quite a lot of what you call round-tripping, where people now do documentation and the fuel does not come into Nigeria. So right now, as we have this refinery working, it will show the true consumption of Nigeria. We can track every single loaded truck and we will try as much as possible to track the loaded ships, trucks who can tell you where they are.

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“Just like now, in some of the projects that we do, we can tell you exactly the consumption pattern. And I hope this refinery will actually change the entire dynamics, not only in Nigeria, but in sub-Saharan Africa. The capacity that we have will not only meet up with the Nigerian demand, but it will also meet up with the demand of sub-Saharan Africa, at least,” he said.

Fuel scarcity

In recent months, petrol scarcity hit major cities across Nigeria, with attendant effects on businesses and households.

This also prompted commercial bus drivers to increase fares in major towns and cities, including the nation’s capital. As a result, black marketers made brisk business selling to willing buyers at higher prices ranging from N1,000 to N1,200.

Earlier on Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES observed that NNPC Ltd outlets in the Central area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, adjusted the pump price of petrol to N897 as motorists and commuters grumbled amid the uncertainty.