The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has urged petroleum marketers, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, to source petrol directly from his refinery to meet local demand.
This call comes as the Nigerian Ports Authority expects a vessel with 20,115,000 litres of petrol to arrive at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos today.
Dangote confirmed his refinery’s readiness to supply fuel after meeting with President Bola Tinubu, stating that the refinery can produce over 30 million litres of fuel daily and currently holds 500 million litres in reserve, enough to supply the country for over 12 days without imports.
The move aims to address fuel scarcity and price hikes in Nigeria, with fuel queues resurfacing in cities like Lagos and Abuja due to supply chain issues. Dangote emphasized that his refinery is not in the business of retail and urged retailers to come forward and pick up fuel, noting that the refinery’s production capacity could offset Nigeria’s fuel needs significantly.
The Federal Government approved the adoption of the naira in crude oil trading with local refineries in July, with the African Export and Import Bank selected as the pilot settlement bank to facilitate transactions.
Dangote revealed that Naira-based crude and petroleum transactions will employ a market-driven exchange rate and competitive crude pricing, with Afreximbank stepping in as the settlement facilitator between Dangote, other refiners, and NNPC.
The Minister of Finance, Edun, noted that the move toward market-based pricing helps NNPC stabilize its finances, enabling greater funding for federal, state, and local governments to meet public obligations like salaries and infrastructure.
The Nigerian Ports Authority also announced that 13 other vessels carrying different consignments, including used cars, will berth at the ports, with vessels with 300 units of used cars arriving on Monday and another expected to arrive on Saturday.
