Dangote to FG: End petrol subsidy now

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has called on the Federal Government to end the payment of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, in Nigeria.

The Star recalls that Tinubu, on inauguration day, May 29, 2023, announced the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

“Subsidy is gone,” Tinubu declared during his inaugural address at Eagle Square in Abuja, shortly after he was sworn in as the 16th President of Nigeria.

Speaking in a national broadcast on the nationwide protest against economic hardship in the country in August 2024, the president described the removal of fuel subsidy as a painful decision by his administration.

He added that he took the decision to remove fuel subsidy and abolish multiple foreign exchange rates because they had impeded the economic development and progress of the nation.

However, Dangote, in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York, the United States, on Monday, September 23, said the removal of fuel subsidy would help determine the actual petrol consumption in Nigeria.

The renowned businessman said now is the right time to end fuel subsidy, adding that fuel production from his refinery in Lagos will help ease pressures on the naira.

Dangote 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.

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“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 Dangote refinery viable, the billionaire businessman added: “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 $20 billion 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.”

The Star