The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has charged the federal government to protect Nigerians from another round of petrol scarcity by selling crude oil to Dangote Refinery in Naira.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero made the call during the facility tour of Dangote Refinery and Fertilizers section which was organised on Tuesday for media practitioners.
Ajaero, who was represented by the Lagos NLC chairman, Comrade Funmi Sessi wondered why government would compel the company to buy its product in foreign currency.
“Here we have a company that is able to break through in the area where government’s refineries could not work. Rather than making things easy in order to have smooth operating system, government is placing additional hurdle of buying crude oil in foreign exchange which is adding more burden on the shoulders of the company.
“With a daily capacity of 650,000 barrels, this refinery can serve Nigeria and even the West African sub-region,” Ajaero said.
Noting that sourcing crude locally in local currency would significantly lower operational costs and lead to sustainable reduction in fuel prices, NLC hailed Dangote Refinery as a transformative national asset that is taking vital step in bridging Nigeria’s fuel supply gap, boosting employment, and restoring public confidence in the country’s industrial capacity.
Ajaero also reiterated his call on government to play supportive role in boosting homemade petroleum products by creating conducive business atmosphere.
“Today, we have seen the massive Dangote Refinery project, as well as the fertiliser plant. We have also observed some of Dangote’s other investments in this axis. It is truly enormous and highly impressive.
“I believe what we have seen is a clear effort to bridge the gap in the availability of essential products in the country and to create job opportunities for Nigerians and others as well as industrialise the country.”
For his part, the Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Devakumar Edwin, said the planned deployment of 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks to support the distribution of refined petroleum products across Nigeria was aimed at ensuring that the benefits of domestic refining and the resulting reduction in fuel prices are fully passed on to Nigerian consumers.
Edwin described the introduction of the CNG-powered fleet as a strategic step to reduce logistics costs in fuel distribution.
“The deployment of these 4,000 CNG-powered trucks will help us pass down the benefits of domestic refining and the reduction in product prices to consumers,” Edwin said.
He added, “The aim is to support logistics and make distribution more efficient, not to displace any existing players in the sector.”
