Sunday 18 September 2016

The plot to take over Nigeria thickens, as Alhaji Dangote wants NLNG sold

Dangote

Multi-billion dollar business mogul and Africa’s riches man Alhaji Dangote in an interview with CNBC Africa suggested measures that can be taken by the Buhari led federal government to take the country out of the current economic recession.

Amid the media chat with CNBC Africa, Dangote suggested to the government to sell off one of Nigeria’s major asset, the Nigerian Natural Liquified Gas (NLNG) company along with other national assets, which are deemed dormant, that generates has the capacity to accrue huge income the nation. He further suggested that proceeds of such sales should be ploughed back into the economy before the year runs out.

Find below excerpts of Dangote’s statements:
“The only way for us to get out of this recession is to make sure we move into action quickly; action by diversifying the economy quickly.

“If I had challenges in my company, I would not hesitate to sell assets, to remain afloat, to get to the better times, because it doesn’t make any sense for me to keep any assets and then suffocate the whole organisation.

“What we need to do now in my own thinking… we have a lot of assets to sell. We can sell part of the joint venture; part of the shares. You know government normally owns 60 percent.

“We can sell in an open tender be it Chinese. We can change the term and make it an operating one, just like what we have in NLNG. We also have another asset I think we don’t really need.

“The African finance corporation; it can fetch them $800million easily. My own suggestion before was that they should even sell 100 percent of NLNG. I don’t think government should be in any business of investing in sectors of LNG.

“A company like that, with earnings of $1.5 billion on the average, they should get anywhere between $12 billion and $15 billion.”

 “You will not believe that the crisis that we have today, if we have $15 billion, adding it to our $25 billion, that is $40 billion reserves. That will give confidence, confidence will come back, then government will back it up with proper economic policy, where people can see the roadmap.

“Latest by fourth quarter, we will be out of recession. It should be a partnership between government and private sector. We have all the answers, Nigeria falling into recession does not really scare me, if we take action.”

“Once we can sell assets, and put $15 billion together, you’d be very shocked at how much the dollar will actually drop, you can easily see 250. What is happening today is mere speculation.

“To currency, everybody will speculate, banks will speculate, companies will speculate, individuals will speculate, because if you have money, you want to send in from abroad you will keep sending in trickles.

“If you know that CBN has $40 billion in reserves today, if you have $100,000, you might even sell it forward because you know that this rate is going to crash and you must quickly sell it.”

Dangote’s advice is coming at a time the Federal Government said it is set to release a fresh N350bn to finance capital projects, a move aimed at resuscitating the dwindling economy.

But questions being asked by many Nigerians are: is the NLGN really dormant? If such assets are to be sold indeed, can they be done within a short period of time, and the proceeds used as suggested? Considering the shortness of time, will due process be followed to the latter? Is it that the Northern cabals want to use him as a shield to buy all the assets that matters to the nation? These and many more questions need to be given genuine answers to convince Nigerians beyond reasonable doubt that this call has no ulterior motive attached to it, considering the meagre amount former President hurriedly sold of the nation’s refinaries, before late President Yar’Adua reversed such dubious sales.



No comments:
Write comments