The National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reacted to reports that its stake in Dangote refinery reduced from 20% to 7.2%.
On Sunday, the Chief Executive officer of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote in a press conference in Lagos revealed that NNPC’s 20% stake in the company’s refinery had dropped to 7.2%. He added that it was due to the Corporation’s failure to fulfil its financial obligations.
In his words; “NNPC no longer holds a 20% stake in the Dangote Refinery,”
“As a consequence of their inability to fulfill their financial commitments, their ownership in the refinery has been adjusted to 7.2%.”
“We had initially welcomed NNPC as a key partner in this crucial venture,”
“However, the delay in their payments has necessitated this adjustment in ownership structure.”
POLITICS NIGERIA recalls that in March 2021, NNPC announced that it would be pumping over $2.7 Billion dollars for a 20% stake in the refinery but ended up paying $1.3 billion to acquire the stake.
Reacting to the development the NNPC disclosed that the decision to cap its investment in Dangote was taken months ago as the investment was not inline with their goals.
A statement through its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye read;
“NNPC Limited periodically assesses its investment portfolio to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic goals. The decision to cap its equity participation in the Dangote Refinery was made several months ago.”
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