By The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has called on petroleum marketers, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), to procure petrol directly from the newly operational Dangote Refinery to meet Nigeria’s local fuel demands. Following a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, Dangote confirmed the refinery’s readiness to supply fuel, assuring that it is equipped to produce over 30 million litres daily at full capacity and currently has a reserve of 500 million litres—enough to sustain the country for over 12 days without imports.
“We’re more than ready,” Dangote told State House correspondents, emphasizing that the refinery’s production could substantially reduce Nigeria’s dependency on imported fuel.
Addressing concerns about fuel shortages across the country, he clarified, “We are producers. I have a refinery but am not in retail. If I were in retail, then hold me accountable. But retailers need to come forward to collect supplies. If they don’t, what else can I do?”
Dangote highlighted the financial costs of maintaining large fuel reserves, noting that his refinery currently bears the expense of holding over a billion litres. “Keeping a billion litres in reserve costs money daily. Instead of this loss, if I could collect payments in naira, I’d be better positioned,” he stated, underscoring the urgency for marketers to utilize the refinery’s stock to alleviate fuel queues at filling stations.
