President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has clarified that the recent reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, to N899.50 per litre at its loading gantry was primarily driven by the complex dynamics of market forces.
He also said it is his responsibility to safeguard both the interests and the investments of the multibillion dollar company.
The business tycoon made these statements during an interview in an Arise TV documentary posted on YouTube on Wednesday.
He said, “The price reduction is a response to the market, let me just put it that way. It is a refinery where we invested over $20bn and I think we have to try and protect our interests and also our investments.”
On December 19, 2024, the Dangote refinery reduced the ex-depot price of its petrol from N970 to N899.50 per litre.
This sparked intense pricing competition in the downstream sector, forcing the NNPCLto to reduce its ex-depot price to N899 per litre.
Similarly, the refinery announced its partnership with MRS Petrol station to sell petrol from its retail outlets nationwide at N935 per litre, to the delight of Nigerians.
Speaking further in the interview, Dangote reiterated that the 650,000 barrels per day refinery will not only transform Nigeria’s oil sector but also the country’s entire economy.
He stressed that when the country imports petroleum products, there is more pressure on foreign exchange.
“40 per cent of our demand on foreign exchange is through people dealing in petroleum products and the more we allow imports to come in, not because I do not want imports, but the more we allow imports to come in, the more we keep using most of our foreign exchange out of the country because the majority of those letters of credit open for petroleum products and the goods are not coming into Nigeria,” he said.
“There is nothing you would do that you won’t get criticism for. But I think we cannot also control people from speaking their minds.”
Dangote reiterated that he was open to criticism, adding that in the history of Nigeria, in the last 100 years, “nobody has put in $20bn in any project”.
