The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, on Wednesday, in Lagos, said Nigerians should expect a drop in inflation given the reduction of diesel pump prices by two-thirds.
“In our refinery, we started selling diesel at about ₦1,200 for ₦1,650 and I’m sure as we go along…this can help to bring inflation down immediately,” Dangote told journalists after he paid Eid-el-Fitr homage to President Bola Tinubu at his residence.
The businessman said his petroleum refinery had been selling diesel at ₦1,200 per litre, compared to the previous price of ₦1,650 – ₦1,700.
He expressed hopes that Nigeria’s economy will improve, as the naira has made some gains in the foreign exchange market, dropping from ₦1,900/$ to the current level of ₦1,250 – ₦1,300.
Dangote said this rise in value has sparked a gradual drop in the price of locally-produced goods such as flour, as businesses are paying less for diesel. Therefore, the reduced fuel costs would drive down inflation in the coming months, he asserted.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1,900.
“But right now, we’re back to almost ₦1,250, ₦1,300, which is a good reprieve. Quite a lot of commodities went up. When you go to the market, for example, something that we produce locally like flour, people will charge you more. Why? Because they’re paying very high diesel prices.
“Now, in our refinery, we started selling diesel at about ₦1,200 instead of ₦1,650 and I’m sure as we go along, things will continue to improve quite a lot,” Dangote stated.
He argued that the reduced diesel price has had “a lot of impact.”
Dangote explained, “If you look at it now, when you are buying ₦1,650 or ₦1,700 for a litre of diesel, and that one has been cut off by almost two-thirds, you are now paying ₦1,200 for diesel.
“Maybe, going forward, even though the crude prices are going up, I believe people will not get it much higher than what it is today, ₦1,200. It might be even a little bit lower, but that can help quite a lot because if you are transporting locally-produced goods and you were paying ₦1,650, now you are paying two-thirds of that amount, ₦1,200. It’s a lot of difference. People don’t know.
“This can help to bring inflation down immediately. And I’m sure when the inflation figures are out for the next month, you’ll see that there’s quite a lot of improvement in the inflation rate. So step at a time. And I’m sure the government is working around the clock to make sure that things get much better.”
He said reduced inflation is in the best interest of the government and Nigerians.
Therefore, he urged captains of industry to partner with the government to improve the lives of the citizens.
“You can’t clap with one hand,” he said, adding, “So, both the entrepreneurs and the government, they need to clap together and make sure that it is in the best interest of everybody.”
