Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Group, made it clear that his refinery is more than ready to tackle Nigeria’s relentless fuel queue problem. Speaking in Abuja, Dangote didn’t hold back, telling the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and fuel marketers to stop importing fuel altogether and start sourcing from his refinery instead.
With a hefty 500 million liters stocked and ready to go, Dangote claims he could single-handedly meet Nigeria’s daily demand of 30-32 million liters starting next week. “Even if production halts elsewhere, we have enough in our tanks to last 12 days,” he said, expressing frustration over the significant costs of keeping his tanks full while imports flood the market.
The timing of Dangote’s statements aligns with a new government policy to sell crude to his refinery in naira, aiming to stabilize domestic fuel prices and reduce the pressure on Nigeria’s currency. “I’m losing money every day these tanks stay full,” he added, pointing out that NNPCL and marketers could prevent the fuel queues by simply buying local instead of burning through scarce dollars for imports.
Dangote is putting his name and his refinery—on the line, stating with confidence, “We’re ready to supply 30 million liters per day. Just come get it.” As fuel queues stretch on and Nigerians grow weary, the message from Dangote is blunt: the solution is here; it’s just waiting for the nation to step up and use it.
