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.
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