Why FG Must End Petrol Subsidy Now — Dangote

The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has called on the Federal Government to completely remove fuel subsidies.

He opined that a complete removal of fuel subsidy would help determine the actual percentage of 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 claimed that fuel production from his $20bn, 650,00 bpd refinery in Lagos will help ease pressure on the Naira.

The former richest African made these suggestions in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York on Monday.

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.”

On whether the subsidy will make the refinery viable, Dangote said, “Well, you see, we have a choice of either one. We produce, we export, and when we produce, we sell locally. But we are a big private company. And yes, it’s true, we have to make a profit. We build something worth $20bn so definitely we have to make money.

“The removal of subsidies is totally dependent on the government, not on us. We cannot change the price, but I think the government will have to give up something for something. So I think at the end of the day, this subsidy will have to go.”