Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, owner of the $20 billion Lagos-based refinery, has announced that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from his refinery is ready and could reach filling stations across Nigeria within the next 48 hours.
However, he noted that this timeline depends on the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Dangote’s remarks were captured in a video published on Facebook by Channels Television. The price of petrol has soared since May last year, following President Bola Tinubu’s announcement to end the fuel subsidy during his inaugural address.
This policy shift led to a staggering increase in petrol prices, from N189 to over N900, and contributed to rising inflation.
When asked about the pricing of petrol from his refinery, Dangote stated that the decision would be made by the Federal Executive Council, led by President Tinubu. “It is an arrangement which is designed and approved by the federal executive council led by President Tinubu.
As soon as it is finalized, once we finish with NNPCL, which can be today or tomorrow, we are ready to roll into the market,” Dangote explained.
In a report by Channels, Dangote declared today as a “celebration day” for Nigerians, promising that the petrol from his refinery would be of superior quality, matching the best in the world.
“You will not be having engine issues, which a lot of us were having. It won’t happen at all. The quality here will match that of anywhere in the world; US, America, we will make sure nobody will beat us in terms of quality,” he assured.
Despite these assurances, long queues have already begun to reappear at petrol stations nationwide in anticipation of the arrival of Dangote refinery’s petrol. For example, in the NNPCL Mega Station in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, kilometers-long queues were observed on Tuesday morning by our reporter.
