The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said that Nigerians presently pay 55 per cent of what other West African nations pay for petrol.
He recently shared that most citizens are not aware that they pay a smaller amount compared to other Africans.
Speaking during a high-level visit to the 650,000 barrels-per-day facility by the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Dr Omar Touray, Dangote said that his refinery has helped with the decrease in fuel prices with its decision to sell petrol between N815 and N820 per litre.
He revealed that the continent has a lot to gain if African nations start to trade among themselves.
According to him, his refinery has done a lot to aid the reduction of refined products and production costs across several sectors of the Nigerian economy, and his company’s effort has affected Nigeria’s mining and agricultural sectors positively.
“Last year, when we began diesel production, we were able to reduce the price from N1,700 to N1,100 at a go, and as of today, the price has crashed further. This reduction has made a significant impact across various sectors. It has supported industries, benefited those of us in mining, and provided vital relief to the agricultural sector. The effect has been far-reaching,” he said.
Dangote urged Nigerians to appreciate the fact that they are benefiting immensely from local refining, stressing that the price of petrol has dropped significantly compared to neighbouring countries.
He reiterated that the Dangote refinery that was built for the people of Nigeria will keep churning out benefits they will be proud of.
He concluded by saying that work must be done to ensure the continent stops depending on imported goods because it will only continue to prevent economic sovereignty.
“As long as we continue importing what we can produce, we will remain underdeveloped. This refinery is proof that we can build for ourselves at scale, to global standards.
There have been many claims suggesting that we don’t even produce enough to meet Nigeria’s needs, so how could we possibly supply other West African countries? But now, they (ECOWAS officials) are here to see the reality for themselves and, more importantly, to encourage other nations to embark on similarly large-scale industrial projects,” he added.
