Billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has lauded the “naira for crude” initiative, stating that it will reduce the demand for foreign exchange by 40%.

Speaking on Arise TV during the announcement of petrol production at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Dangote said, “I will like to salute the people of Nigeria and the government of President Bola Tinubu for creating the environment for us to thrive and also achieve this monumental feat of giving energy to our people for growth and prosperity.”

He further explained the impact of the initiative, noting, “I want to thank President Bola Tinubu for creating this idea of naira for crude and naira for the product.

“Doing that will give a lot of stability to the naira and remove 40 per cent of the demand for dollars. That’s not just it; there is a lot of round-tripping.”

Dangote also highlighted how the refinery’s operations would enhance transparency in the nation’s fuel consumption, stating, “Now that we have this refinery working, it will show the true consumption of Nigeria.

“We can track each loaded truck, and we will try as much as possible to track the loaded ships. Trucks, we can tell you where they are, and for some of the products we have, we can tell you the consumption.”

In April, the Federal Government revealed that indigenous refineries could now purchase crude oil in either naira or dollars.

Additionally, the government disclosed that Nigeria’s total crude oil and condensate reserves increased to 37.5 billion barrels as of January 1, 2024, with a life index of 68.01 years.

The Dangote Refinery, when fully operational, will have the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of oil per day, turning more than half of that output into petrol.

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