President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has called on the Federal Government to end fuel subsidies.
He said the removal would help determine the actual petrol consumption in the country, as he confirmed ownership of two oil blocks in the upstream sector with an expected production date of next month.
Dangote also stated that fuel production from his $20bn mega refinery in Lagos will help ease pressures on the naira. The refinery can refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday, Dangote said now is the right time to end fuel subsidies.
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.”
Dangote who recalled the challenges faced after the project’s launch in 2013, experiencing a five-year delay due to issues with state government and host communities and a running loan of $2.4bn, said he is personally proud to achieve the feat.
He said the removal would help determine the actual petrol consumption in the country, as he confirmed ownership of two oil blocks in the upstream sector with an expected production date of next month.
Dangote also stated that fuel production from his $20bn mega refinery in Lagos will help ease pressures on the naira. The refinery can refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday, Dangote said now is the right time to end fuel subsidies.
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.”
Dangote who recalled the challenges faced after the project’s launch in 2013, experiencing a five-year delay due to issues with state government and host communities and a running loan of $2.4bn, said he is personally proud to achieve the feat.
