Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group, yesterday, said his refinery’s selling diesel at discounted prices would provide relief to Nigeria’s inflation woes.
He made this known while paying an Eid-el-Fitr homage to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his Lagos home.
While speaking with newsmen, he said that the naira exchange rate has improved in recent times, dropping from around N1,900 to the dollar to the current level of between N1,250 and N1,300.
In February, the inflation rate increased to 31.70 percent relative to the January 2024 rate, which was 29.90 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics
Dangote, who was optimistic about the prospects of the pricing for the economy, expects this reduction in fuel costs to help drive down inflation in the coming months.
He said: ““There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it here, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the narrow devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about N1,900. But right now we’re back to almost N1,250 or N1,300, which is a good improvement.
“And you can see quite a lot of things have actually gone up. Even people now when you go to the market, for example, something that we produce locally, like flour or whatever, people will charge you more.
“Why? Because they’re paying very high prices on diesel. And what we did, for example, in our refinery, we started selling even diesel about N1,200 for N1,650. And I’m sure, you know, as we go along, things will continue to improve quite a lot.”
According to him, people will not get diesel much higher than what it is today, even though the crude prices are going up.
“N1,200, it might be even a little bit lower. But that can help quite a lot. Because if you are transporting locally produced goods, rice and other stuff, you are paying N1,650. Now you are paying two thirds of that amount, N1,200. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of difference. People don’t know.
“That can actually help to bring inflation down immediately. And I’m sure when the inflation figures are out for the next month, you see that there’s quite a lot of improvement in the inflation rate.
“So one step at a time. And I’m sure the government is working round the clock to make sure that things get much better,” he added. “Because it’s in their own interest. It’s in the interest of everybody, it’s in our own interest, and I just want to thank everybody.”
The Dangote group helmsman urged captains of industry to partner with the government to improve the lives of Nigerian citizens. “You can’t clap with one hand. So, both the entrepreneurs and the government need to clap together and make sure that it is in the best interest of everybody.”
President Tinubu praised the chairman of Dangote Group for his unwavering support for Nigeria’s budding entrepreneurs, lauding him as a stalwart of industry who has bolstered the nation’s reputation as a fertile ground for business.
In a statement relayed by his media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, the president joined Dangote’s loved ones in commemorating the visionary behind West Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate and one of Africa’s foremost business leaders.
Highlighting Dangote’s myriad industrial accomplishments, Tinubu hailed his fearless innovation and relentless pursuit of excellence in every endeavour.
