Africa and Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has said the price of crude oil will never return back to $80 per barrel.
He stated that if the price of the commodity improved, efforts aimed at diversifying the economy would be jettisoned.
The business mogul made the remark at a forum in Abuja.
Dangote promised to crash the price of fertilizer before the end of next year so as to boost agricultural production and guarantee food security in the country.
He noted that Nigeria’s fertilizer production would rise by about three million tonnes, while it would be easily accessible by farmers across the country.
According to the business mogul, the Federal Government agricultural and fertilizer policies would make the commodity cheaper and available.
He said, “Government has actually done quite a lot, and I think by the end of next year or so, you will buy fertilizer even cheaper than what you are buying today. Secondly, we will be begging you to buy.
“There won’t be scarcity of fertilizer anymore.
“We have three million tonnes of capacity coming into the market by the end of next year and this is also thanks to the policies of the Federal Government.
“We need to be very serious. People who are hoping that crude oil is going to go back up to around $70 and $80 per barrel, it is not just going to happen. There is so much oil everywhere and I think, at $53 per barrel, it is a temporary measure.
“If crude oil gets to $90 per barrel, none of us would talk about recession again; we would go back to our normal ways. For us to go through this long haul of low oil price would help push us into the real sector which is agriculture, construction and all others.”
Recall that the business mogul had in an interview with CNBC Africa, urged the Federal Government to sell off its stake in the NLNG, as well as dormant but huge capital-generating sectors in the country, stressing that the proceeds generated from the sales should be reinvested into the economy before the end of the fourth quarter.
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