Fuel
Dangote reassures his refinery will end fuel import, subsidy
Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has reassured Nigerians that his $20 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, in Lagos, would end fuel subsidy in the country.
Dangote said the “time is right” for the country to end fuel subsidy, as his mega refinery would do just that.
According to him, “Subsidy is a very sensitive issue. Once you are subsidizing something then people will bloat the price and then government will end up paying what they are not supposed to be paying.”
Dangote, who spoke during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York Monday, said: “It is the right time to get rid of subsidies.”
Indeed, Nigeria has been wholly dependent on imported fuel until Dangote’s refinery came on stream.
Consequent upon fuel importation, the nation had paid huge subsidies to augument the high cost of imported fuel, which in 2022 alone cost $10 billion.
However, President Bola Tinubu, in his acceptance speech on May 29, 2023, had removed the subsidy.
This decision led to spirraling cost-of living that sparked protests, as inflation spiked.
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