Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, stated on Tuesday that his refinery has the capacity to produce enough petrol to meet local demand. He mentioned that around 500 million liters of petrol have not yet been taken up by retailers.
Dangote made these remarks while answering questions from journalists at the State House following a meeting of the Implementation Committee for the Sale of Crude and Refined Petroleum Products with President Bola Tinubu. He expressed concern over the ongoing fuel shortages at many filling stations.
“We have enough supply of crude and can actually produce more than 30 million liters each day. At full capacity, we can satisfy all local consumption,” he said. “Currently, we have 500 million liters in our tanks. Even if we ceased production or imports today, this would sustain the country for over 12 days.”
“We are fully prepared and committed. I assure Mr. President that we can supply the market with a minimum of 30 million liters per day and will ramp up production accordingly. We are ready—more than ready.”
Regarding the shortages and long queues at filling stations, Dangote noted that marketers are not coming forward to take petrol from the refinery. “It’s important to remember that we are producers. I own a refinery; I am not in the retail business. If I were in retail, I would be held accountable. The retailers need to come forward and collect the petrol. If they don’t, I am not sure what more I can do.”
He added, “I don’t expect either NNPC or the marketers to stop importing. The reality is that they should come and collect from us because we have what they need. As they take supplies, I will continue to produce. Keeping a billion liters in our tank costs me money every day. If I could collect payments, I could charge an interest rate of 32 percent. Right now, that’s the loss I am incurring.”
Dangote emphasized that they are not retailers and do not have trucks to deliver products to filling stations. “We have a factory and a loading facility. If the retailers come to collect, we can fulfill their needs. They have been doing this with imported fuel, so if they claim to be importing 55 million liters, I see no reason why they won’t come and collect our products for distribution.”
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