Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has called on the Federal Government to cease crude oil-for-loan agreements, stressing the importance of preserving Nigeria’s future wealth. Speaking at the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria Summit in Lagos, represented by Executive Director Engr Mansur Ahmed, Dangote emphasized that the country must stop mortgaging its oil resources in exchange for loans.
He pointed to the example of countries like Norway, which invest oil revenues into national wealth funds for future generations, urging Nigeria to follow a similar approach rather than spending future proceeds today.
This statement follows the African Export-Import Bank’s disbursement of $3.175 billion to the Nigerian government as part of a crude-for-loan agreement through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in June 2024.
Dangote Refinery Built Without Government Funds
During the same summit, Dangote also highlighted that his 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity refinery was constructed without financial support from the Nigerian government. The $20 billion facility, which began operations in January 2024, now meets the country’s demand for diesel and jet fuel. By the end of September 2024, the refinery’s production capacity increased from 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day.
Since mid-September, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has been the sole distributor of the refinery’s petrol output, further reducing the country’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer.
