The Chief Executive officer of Dangote Refibery, Aliko Dangote has addressed the growing fuel scarcity in the country, urging NNPC and other marketers to load fuel from the refinery.
Speaking at the State House on Tuesday, Dangote stated that the refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has sufficient petrol available, but marketers have not been picking up the product.
He emphasized that, as a producer, the refinery is not responsible for the scarcity, as it does not handle fuel distribution.
The business mogul also noted that the longer the petrol remains in the refinery’s storage, the more financial losses it incurs daily.
“We are producers. I have a refinery. I’m not in the business of retail. If I’m in the business of retail, then you can hold me responsible. But what I’m saying is that the retailers should please come forward and pick. If they don’t come forward and pick, what do you want me to do? There is nothing I can do.
“I’m expecting either NNPC or the marketers to stop importing and they should come and collect. We have what they need. As they remove, I will be pumping. I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep having millions of litres inside our tank. It’s costing me money’.
Furthermore, Dangote stated that the refinery has the capacity to meet local demand, even if consumption reaches 55 million liters per day.
He noted that since marketers are already importing petrol, it should not be an issue for them to source products from a local producer.
