Aliko Dangote has dismissed claims that job losses would result from his Refinery’s new distribution plan of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
Concerns from union groups included fears of disruption in the current petroleum supply chain and monopolistic practices.
Dangote, however, highlighted that the initiative would create 24,000 new jobs, with high salaries and additional benefits for workers.
At a press conference in Lagos, the chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, put to rest the notion that his plan to have 4000 in-house CNG trucks would lead to job losses.
“So these trucks they are fighting about, will create 24,000 jobs,” he said.
He said his druck driver could apply for a housing loan after 5 years of driving without accidents. .
“Our drivers earn more than graduates; if you look at what they earn a month, it’s almost four times the minimum wage,” he added.
Going by the face value of Nigeria’s current minimum wage, which sits at ₦70,000 per month ($46.84), a Dangote truck driver, according to Africa’s richest man, would be earning anywhere from ₦210,000 to ₦280,000
Dangote’s comments were made to address the recent clash he had with union workers led by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) after announcing
plans to create an in-house distribution engine using 4,000 CNG-powered trucks.
The initiative was created with the intention of cutting yearly gasoline distribution6 costs by ₦1.7 trillion and enhancing the efficiency of Nigeria’s fuel supply chain.
Immediately, the plan was announced, the Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), a non-profit organization representing most of the retail outlet owners and filling stations across Nigeria, publicly criticized the initiative, describing it as a dangerous overreach.
At the time, PETROAN said that allowing Dangote to act as both producer and distributor would result in monopolistic market domination, reduce competition.
The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) also expressed concerns about Dangote’s plan.
Members of NOGASA act as intermediaries both refineries and end users.
NOGASA President, Benneth Korie, cautioned that deploying the CNG trucks might have serious ramifications for the downstream sector, including the disruption of the country’s petroleum supply chain.
He inferred that the plan could result in the loss of thousands of jobs, particularly those held by small merchants, transporters, and suppliers whose livelihoods rely on the present distribution network.
However, Dangote at the press conference scoffed at the notion, stating that, as opposed to these groups’ initial concerns, the refinery’s distribution plan would actually create more jobs.
Dangote’s response to job concerns
“We are not trying to take anybody out of the market. These trucks that we launched didn’t stop anybody from their work,” Africa’s richest man stated.
By the time you take a workshop, managers, people who look after tires, people who look after logistics, dispatch, every truck is about 6 people,” Dangote
