“I never knew oil industry mafias are stronger than drug cartel” – Dangote

…this is what is currently trending in Nigeria

Aliko Dangote’s recent revelation has sparked controversy around the Nigerian oil and gas sector. He claimed NNPC inflated fuel prices by adding profits and expenses to the cost price, contrary to standard practices.

Dangote who is the president of Dangote Group, also pointed out that Nigerians pay less for fuel than Saudis, making subsidy removal necessary. He challenged NNPC to be transparent on pricing.

Dangote shared specific figures:

15th September: NNPC bought 650,000 barrels from Dangote Refinery (DF) at a lower price.

Same period: NNPC imported 800,000 MT overseas at 20% higher cost.

Announced price to the public is different from the actual costs. He claimed NNPC selling price already contains the profit margin.

Dangote criticised NNPC’s handling of the refinery deal, citing their reduced stake from 20% to 7.2% and he also urged NNPC to come out clean subsidy issues.

Nigerians are puzzled by Dangote’s reluctance to disclose his selling price (to NNPC), despite denying earlier agreements and criticising NNPC’s claims.

“Listening to Dangote’s talk on the removal of subsidies shows how evil these people are.

“First, he compared Nigeria to Saudi Arabia. What an idiosyncrasy! Being a monopolist and capitalist that he’s always been, I didn’t expect him to say that Saudi Arabia pays minimum wage per hour and for all types of jobs; whether shoe shining, carpentry, grass cutting, bricklaying, painting, sales job, conductor job, etc – everyone is paid per hour for services they render. Unlike Nigeria, where the minimum wage is only paid to government-employed workers and a few private companies’ workers, and it’s monthly. Imagine comparing N30,000 Nigerian minimum wage to over N1 million Saudi minimum wage.

“To me, Dangote just wants public sympathy. Yes, he’s done well in building a Refinery which will cut the country’s dependence on importation from the West and Asia, but he’s still doing the bidding of the West because pump prices are even higher now that the country imports.

“I knew this was coming when former President Muhammadu rushed to commission the Dangote Refinery that’s not completed.

“Just as he did to Sugar, making us believe St. Louis was too expensive at N250 and bringing his at N200, today, Dangote sugar cost over N2,000 per packet – in less than 5 years.

Meanwhile, Dangote is yet to disclose how much he is selling fuel to the NNPC.

“Well, for those who feel this will turn things around, hear this, ‘It’ll surely turn things around but for worse.’

“These people only cry out when they are the beneficiaries. A few words is enough for the wise,” Frank Ulom, a Blogger, Journalist and Social Commentator, posted on X on Tuesday.

Listening to Dangote's talk on the removal of subsidies shows how evil these people are.

First, he compared Nigeria to Saudi Arabia. What an idiosyncrasy! Being a monopolist and capitalist that he's always been, I didn't expect him to say that Saudi Arabia pay minimum wage per… pic.twitter.com/nxlaDV53TI

— Frank Ulom (@frankulom) September 24, 2024