Denote, who said this on Tuesday shortly after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu and the Crude Oil Implementation Committee on the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency, in Abuja, said that he is not a retailer and has no trucks to send petrol out.
The Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said that he sees no reason why the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Independent Petroleum Marketers who are said to have been importing 55 million litres of petroleum products into the country cannot come to Dangote Refinery to load petrol and distribute to Nigerians.
Denote, who said this on Tuesday shortly after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu and the Crude Oil Implementation Committee on the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency, in Abuja, said that he is not a retailer and has no trucks to send petrol out.
He said Dangote Refinery is losing some revenue because the NNPC and marketers are not loading petrol from the refinery while the refinery has about 500 billion litres of petrol in its tank.
He said, “We are producers, I have a refinery. I’m not in the business of retail. If I’m in the business of retail, then you hold me responsible.
“What I’m saying is that retailers should please come forward and pick. If they don’t come forward and pick, there is nothing that I can do.
“I’m expecting either NNPC or the marketers to stop importing. They should come and collect. We have all they need and as they remove, I will be pumping.
“I don’t know whether you understand what it takes to keep half a billion litres inside our tank. It is costing me money. Every day, if I’m able to collect the Naira, I can actually charge somebody 32% in interest.
“Right now, that is what I’m losing and we are talking about 500 billion. We don’t print money but the issue is that if they come and collect, then you will not see any queue in the filling stations.
“We have what it takes for them to come and collect. We are not retailers. We also don’t have trucks to send. We have a factory where we can load.
“If they come and pick, they would go and distribute and they have been doing that with importation. If they have been doing that with importation, if it is true they are doing 55 million, I see no reason they won’t come and collect our own and distribute.”