DANGOTE: SMUGGLERS STILL TAKE NIGERIAN FUEL ACROSS BORDERS

Alike Dangote

Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has openly disclosed that petroleum products are being smuggled out of the country by profiteers and smugglers for sale in neighbouring countries. Dangote revealed in an exclusive interview broadcast on Tuesday on Arise News that the cost of petrol is lower in Nigeria in comparison to “our neighbouring countries”.

He said that despite the price surge across the world, petrol is still being smuggled out of the country because of the relatively cheap price of petrol products and the high profit margin outside the nation’s borders.

“Expensive is relative”, Dangote said in course of the interview. “There is still a lot of smuggling of petroleum products to our neighbouring countries”, he remarked.

According to Africa’s richest man, “Petroleum products in those neighbouring countries are about 30% to 50% more expensive than in Nigeria”, saying this explains why smuggling is striving.

Reflecting on his life, Dangote who claimed he has seen it all said he owned an aircraft when he was barely 24 years old. But observed that those who own private planes without owning manufacturing concerns are not adding value to Nigeria’s efforts to turnaround the economy.

He admitted that one of his children would eventually take over the running of the Dangote Group when he retires. However, he did not drop the name of the would-be successor.

Dangote agreed he had benefitted from positive policies put in motion by the system, but lamented that policy inconsistencies have been a major challenge facing by investors interested in the Nigerian economy

He said there have been several claims that he has benefited immensely from the Nigerian government and challenged those peddling such tales to name of one of such benefits

Africa’s richest man assured Nigerians that there will neither be scarcity of petroleum products nor queues at gas stations, saying that the Gulf war was not a major threat to stability in the oil market. He said the real threat remained the availability of the product.

He spoke of the need for more investments that would exploit the potentials of the black continent, stressing that given the amount of resources that Africa is blessed with, there is no reason to import detergents into African countries from abroad.

The businessman expressed confidence that the IPO floated by the Refinery which is the biggest in the world would be over subscribed.

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