…moves to check products smuggling via truck tracking
BY SAM OTUONYE
Aliko Dangote, the owner of Dangote refinery and Africa’s richest man, has made a scathing revelation about an endemic challenge bedeviling the oil industry in Nigeria, even as he said that his refinery is insulated by reason of crude-to-naira initiative of the government.
Dangote who made the startling submission during an interview with Bloomberg confessed that he never knew the situation was that bad.
He said: “I never knew that the oil industry mafia is stronger than the drug cartel; it’s a big cartel. I will say this anywhere.”
He added that the mafia in the oil industry has the ability to control the prices of fuel in the country just for their own advantage or to prevent any unwanted competition.
The businessman, however, said Dangote Refinery would be able to outsmart them because it can take local currency (naira), but they can not.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government and Dangote Refinery have finalized an agreement for the supply of 12 million barrels of crude oil to the facility in October.
Aliko Dangote, the chief executive officer of Dangote Refinery, confirmed this information during an interview with Bloomberg TV in the United States.
He stated that the crude oil supply is a component of an ongoing agreement with the federal government, aimed at allowing the refinery to process crude domestically and produce petrol, diesel, and jet fuel for the local market.
The arrangement, is no doubt part of the “Crude Oil for Naira” initiative, which represents a strategic collaboration between the Dangote Group and the Nigerian government.
In a related development, Dangote has moved to check products smuggling by installing tracker on trucks.
To curb the menace of petroleum products diversion to neighboring countries, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Group, has proposed the tracking of trucks that would load at his refinery as new measure to enhance accountability in Nigeria’s oil distribution.
In a recent statement according to a report, Dangote emphasized the importance of tracking oil shipments. He has planned to install trackers on all trucks and ships that load oil from Dangote facilities. This initiative aims to ensure that oil stays within Nigeria and is not diverted elsewhere.
He believed that this measure could help the government save significant amounts of money by confirming that all produced oil is properly accounted for.
Dangote said, “Some say, it’s less. But right now, if you look at it by us producing, everything can be counted. So everything can be accounted for, particularly for most of the trucks or ships that will come to load from us. We are going to put a tracker on them to be sure they are going to take the oil within Nigeria, and that, I think, can help the government save quite a lot of money. I think it is the right time, you know, to remove the subsidy.”
It is no news that smuggling of petroleum products to neighboring countries has been one of the major setbacks of the country’s petrol subsidy scheme, as products are lifted out of the country illegally and sold at higher prices.