₦airaland Forum

President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has attributed the high price of petrol in Nigeria partly to the continued smuggling of the commodity to neighbouring countries where it sells for significantly more.

Dangote said petrol prices in neighbouring countries were between 30 and 50 per cent higher than in Nigeria, arguing that the price difference creates a strong financial incentive for traders to move petrol out of the country.

He stated this in an interview aired on Arise TV on Tuesday while speaking about petrol prices and the availability of the product amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Explaining why Nigerians may perceive petrol as expensive despite the country producing the commodity domestically, Dangote said the price could not be considered in isolation from the prices in neighbouring countries.

“You know, expensive is relative. In the sense that today, maybe, you know, a lot of them, there’s ignorance also. What they need to do is ask, what is the neighbour’s price?”

He said the continued movement of Nigerian petrol across the borders was partly driven by the significant difference between domestic prices and those obtainable in neighbouring countries.

“I don’t know if you know that there’s still a lot of smuggling of the same petrol we are producing to our neighbouring countries.”

The price gap means that petrol bought in Nigeria can potentially be resold across the border at a substantial premium. Dangote said this creates an incentive for smugglers to divert petrol meant for the Nigerian market rather than sell it domestically.

“Because those neighbouring countries are about 30 to 50 per cent more expensive than Nigeria. So, it’s not actually like for like.”

Dangote specifically cited Niger, where he said petrol was selling at a premium of between 20 and 25 per cent compared with Nigeria.

He used the example to illustrate why the border trade could be financially attractive, particularly when the price difference is large enough to provide an immediate return on the commodity.

“And people can now go and ask, okay, fine, what is the price of, even now at N1,350? Okay, the price in Niger is 20 to 25 per cent more than Nigeria,” he said.

He questioned what other legitimate business could provide such an immediate return.

“So, what business are you going to do that will make you have an instant 25 per cent return?” he asked.


Dangote further explained how petrol intended for domestic distribution could allegedly be diverted towards the border for sale to buyers in neighbouring countries.


“So, it means that, yes, you take the [petrol], you go and take it across the border. You pretend you are taking it to Sokoto, you go and just take it to Ilela, and you sell.

“Actually, they don’t have.”

The implication, according to Dangote, is that a product that should remain available to Nigerian consumers can be moved out of the country because of the higher prices obtainable across the border.

Beyond the issue of price, however, Dangote said the current crisis in the Middle East could pose a different challenge to the Nigerian downstream market.

He warned that the major concern could shift from how much petrol costs to whether sufficient volumes would be available to consumers.

“And the problem now, going forward, I must also warn that this crisis in the Middle East is not even about price; it’s about availability,” Dangote said.

The comment comes against the backdrop of concerns over how developments in the Middle East could affect global energy markets, including the availability and cost of petroleum products.

Asked whether Nigerians should be worried about petrol supplies, Dangote said the Dangote refinery was prepared to continue meeting domestic demand.

“We will deliver to Nigeria. Nigerians don’t need to worry. There will not be any shortage from our own part.

“There won’t be any shortage. There will not be any queues. We will make sure that we keep satisfying the market, despite all odds,” Dangote added.

The remarks came as investors flooded the Nigerian Exchange on Monday following the opening of the initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.

The N2.15tn IPO was formally opened during the opening gong ceremony at the NGX trading floor in Marina, Lagos, with Dangote sounding the gong to mark the commencement of the offer.

The refinery became the first petroleum refinery to be offered to investors on the Nigerian stock market in the Exchange’s 66-year history.

The IPO comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares offered at N525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at N5,250.

The offer is open to retail, institutional and eligible African investors and is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026.

Source: https://punchng.com/why-petrol-remains-expensive-in-nigeria-dangote

President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has attributed the high price of petrol in Nigeria partly to the continued smuggling of the commodity to neighbouring countries where it sells for significantly more.

Dangote said petrol prices in neighbouring countries were between 30 and 50 per cent higher than in Nigeria, arguing that the price difference creates a strong financial incentive for traders to move petrol out of the country

So essentially, the smuggling out of the country is creating a relative scarcity which is pushing up the prices...long and short of the tale.

Yeah, I'm not surprised there is smuggling, the only good thing about it now is that government is no longer paying subsides, so we aren't subsidising everyone and anyone. But at the end, the CUstoms needs to be up and doing.

Still Nigeria cannot stop smuggling, as most smugglers are a guy with a 50 kg keg of petrol...carrying it across the border. Not just the big tankers. Unless the government is ready to enclose Nigeria with the equivalent of the Berlin wall...the Berlin wall 2000 that the GDR leadership was planning for the 1990's that would have included among other things robot controlled guns operating by being triggered by motion sensors, anD cctv cameras everywhere...smuggling is going to happen. The fact that subsidy is gone means that it isn't being done at the expense of the treasury.

Still, a trick we could use is to charge tarrifs on petrol going out of the country...as much as 30%. Ouch.

Beyond the issue of price, however, Dangote said the current crisis in the Middle East could pose a different challenge to the Nigerian downstream market.

He warned that the major concern could shift from how much petrol costs to whether sufficient volumes would be available to consumers.

“And the problem now, going forward, I must also warn that this crisis in the Middle East is not even about price; it’s about availability,” Dangote said.

Yeah, so now, Saudi, Iran , Iraq and UAE cannot export crude. That means that the market is experiencing a massive shortage, which means that any crude in the market is going to be snapped up at higher prices.

Relative scarcity.

(A fun example from the past...in 1977, several coffee producing countries had natural disasters strike at the same time affecting the crop. Many of them, except Uganda...result was that Uganda had a very good 1977/8 selling coffee at higher prices...while other countries had to fix damage from the coffee crop failure).

And that may affect domestic supply to the Nigerian market...because now prices are high due to the relative scarcity in the world, crude oil producers are going to raise their prices, and are going to sell at higher prices to the person prepared to drop a lot of money. That includes refinery, and that means fuel prices would be higher.


Nigeria meanwhile is servicing a hefty debt from keeping subsidy for a long time than we should have and is also having to borrow more to meet up funding. Any increase in oil prices is going to fund the debt, (congrats to tinubu for mobilizing nigerians against GEJ's fuel subsidy removal in 2012...had subsidy gone then, savings may have been high enough to help us ride out the storm we face now..instead we kept subsidy, decimated our savings, and had to raise them up again)....so the rise in oil prices won't be good for us.

Also, high oil prices does not mean the money would come immediately. Had we still had a subsidy, we would have had to borrow to pay for it at higher rates, while we wait for the oil money revenue to come in, and when the oil revenue comes in, we use it to pay off the debt. Therein lies the problem with subsides.

Reason for cement hike ? Smuggling too.



Richest man in Nigeria my foot.

But one of tinubu minions came on air to say petrol is now affordable for all

Nothing caused it than selfishness of our leaders

Lol... I needa ask , how n what are we even benefiting from this dangote refinery brouhaha

The smuggling thing is an issue, yes agreed but I still maintain the fact that , I do not think the fight in middle east is affecting the availability of petrol in our country ... Coz the petrol we refine is from our country, so how does it affect the availability n price here?

APC e rats dare not attack Dangote

See this man just dey deceive gullible people. What has smuggling got to do with the fact that crude prices fell, but Dangote kept increasing fuel prices?

Mtchww... Gullible People who don't understand monopoly and somebody taking advantage of a corrupt country like Nigeria will say yes to this fallacy.

Was this not the same refinery you Nigerians prayed, waited and clamored for? How has it improved your life's and your personal economics?

Ok he should tell us why cement is so expensive, a commodity that has all raw materials here in Nigeria. Sorry Nigerians, our leaders are very wicked people.

Hmmmm. Okay o. We have heard you sir

Few people will call Dangote a monopolistic capitalists going forward since y'all are now a shareholder in his refinery.

Whatever Dangote says now must make sense to every investors right now.....
No body wants to be found wanting so long their money is buried somewhere

Chai how we go con explain this to common Nigerians

We want it back at N500

The refinery should be a plus

Is Dangote now the minister of petroleum?

Tinubu remains the highest criminal in Nigeria history

When we thought that dangote refinery would change the whole thing, it is getting worse everyday 😭

Aliko let's discuss this at our company's meeting. With my 13 shares I also have a say

But one of tinubu minions came on air to say petrol is now affordable for all. . .

When we thought that dangote refinery would change the whole thing, it is getting worse everyday. . .

Dangote na scammer


Nonsense and ingridients

Goinhard:
Reason for cement hike ? Smuggling too.



Richest man in Nigeria my foot.

You got this out of me. I was going to request that we start with cement first. Typical capitalist

Dangotes dream of having every strategic economic hub to himself is manifesting before our very own eyes that he even said that he don't see any new refinery in the country during our life time

Tell me why we so much have to rely on him and imported fuel when our refineries in port Harcourt,kaduna and warri lie in waste,why fuel prices won't be high

Dango baba, e just de whyne Nigerians de go. 😙👍

Am I missing something?
So because they are smuggling the product across borders, you then decide on your own to arbitrarily increase the price? As how?
I thought subsidy 'has been removed'?

Story story, once upon a time

Fuckyoumod:
See this man just dey deceive gullible people. What has smuggling got to do with the fact that crude prices fell, but Dangote kept increasing fuel prices?

Mtchww... Gullible People who don't understand monopoly and somebody taking advantage of a corrupt country like Nigeria will say yes to this fallacy.

Was this not the same refinery you Nigerians prayed, waited and clamored for? How has it improved your life's and your personal economics?

I was just expecting someone to be as smart as you are to know this... Dangote issimply taking advantage of the corrupt govenment and country

Have you ever wondered why the rich keeps getting richer, and the poor keeps getting poorer.

There is no difference between Dangote and the APC thieves parading themselves as politicians

Dangote will rather blame Iran and our neighbors than blame Tinubu's policies. They all dine together while the masses languish in penury

Tell me, isn't it better to scrap the refinery, return subsidy and FX control for the people to breathe than having more money in the hand of crony capitalists and politicians?

He is just saying nonsense because tell me what is our own with out neighbors? Produce in tbe country and give us better price. He is just spilling jargons

On one Hand, Dangotte thanks the President, for increasing the Price of Petrol, through the removal of that fake Fuel Subsidy.

On the other hand, he is lamenting about why the Price of Petrol is high in Nigeria and attributing it to smuggling (like the Nigerian Customs and other Security Agencies at our Borders are sleeping-on-duty or Conniving with the Smugglers!)

Which one should we now believe; That he is genuinely concerned about the very high price Nigerians are forced to pay at the Pumps, or that he happy about it, as a beneficiary and is just playing to the gallery?

Lol...

Gas has gone up, cement has gone up... are those also being smuggled?

I once said that the reasons why fuel subsidy became unsustainable in the first place have not been addressed.

Bat left the actual economic saboteurs and attacked hardworking Nigerians.

Bat felt it was easier to deal with 200m+ Nigerians who cannot touch him, than to confront the less than 100k economic saboteurs...

Trash analysis. Just beat around the bush to arrive at nowhere.

Obviously, the smuggling to other countries hasn't ideally created any scarcity, so what exactly is the basis of increasing the prices intermittently?

You no go see heaven, greedy wicked mofo