By fatima Muraina

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Stakeholders are optimistic that the emergence of Dangote refinery will crash the present high cost of fuel and boost the economy of the nation.

Speaking in separate interviews with The Hope, they visioned abundance of fuel coupled with the refineries being put in place by the Federal Government, saying when all the four refineries begin operations, it would determine the price by forces of demand and supply.

Those who spoke include an Economist, who is a resource management consultant in Akure, Elder Fessy Olabode, the Vice Chairman of Petroleum Marketers Association, Ondo State Branch, Pius Adebusuyi and the Ondo state Chairman of Marketers and Dealers Association, Bayo Olowookere.

Olabode said, “They have started production and it is part of the economy because there will be more fuel in the system. If Port Harcourt too starts production, then we will have more fuel and when you have more goods then it brings down the price of the products. Cost of transporting refined products from abroad would also be eliminated.

“The only thing that will still not allow us to feel the impact so much is the exchange rate that is not stable but as time goes on when the exchange rate finds its feet then definitely the price will come down from the current N650 to adjusted price which will be below what we are buying now.”

The coming in of the Dangote refinery, Olabode further said will break the issue of monopoly of the NNPC as the Association of Oil Marketing can choose to buy from wherever they want.

He called on the government to intensify efforts to ensure that other refineries commence production soon, saying that more fuel will be brought to the economy If they commence production.

He described the economy as being deregulated where the forces of market determines the price which determines and putting it at what we are buying for now.

Olabode urged Nigerians to be patient while we wait for full production from NNPC in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna to bring down the price.

Also, Adebusuyi observed that a lot of other opportunities like employment will also spring up around the refinery, adding that having the refinery in the country means we don’t need to go to the international world to bring the products.

“Another advantage is that, Nigeria is a consuming country, that is the reason why the rate of dollar kept increasing on a daily basis but with what has happened now the pressure on naira will automatically reduce.

“In Nigeria here, we have quantity of petroleum products that we are consuming on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. After the removal of subsidy the quantity we are consuming has reduced drastically because the burden of people taking it outside the country has drastically reduced.

“That is one of the advantage we got from the removal of subsidy. If we are to look at what we have just said, Dangote may not be able to feed the entire country with the quantity of products we are consuming on daily basis but  While disclosing that the Port Harcourt refinery has started working, Adebusuyi confirmed that all the modular refineries people are already working on that have been licensed by government would have begun operation before the end of the year.

“The implication of what is happening now is that we will be tapping our crude locally, process it locally and consume it locally so all the elements of using ship to move it from one place to the other must have been removed so there is no way the price can increase to N1,200 any longer, rather it will continue to come down gradually. It is just a matter of time.”

He lauded President Tinubu for taking a very good move to ensure that the suffering of the people is alleviated.

Commenting on the situation, Olowookere said “Dangote is starting production by next year, 2025. They are just producing diesel and aviation oil and according to their own capacity, when they start production fully that is when we can feel the impact.

“Presently we have not be told that we should start coming to come and load from his depot and I heard over the media that he has appointed some major marketers and we the independent marketers. But we are still going to sit round the table and negotiate on the cost.

“Presently, we have discrepancies in price, Mobil has its own price, NNPC has its own price, likewise others. The logistics have to be put into consideration. People hope that if Dangote refinery starts the price will come down and we hope it will be so, but with the present situation, Nigeria is not the only country that is facing this hardship, it is all over the whole world, it depends on how we manage ourselves,” he stated.