No govt can function without petrol right pricing, tax payment – Dangote

PRESIDENT of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said it is impractical to run a government without tax payment, increased Value Added Taxes and charging the right prices on petrol products.

Dangote spoke during a dialogue session in Abuja with stakeholders, which was organised by the National Peace Committee, co-chaired by a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), and Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah.

The richest man in Africa said people should rather contribute their quota to the effective running of the country instead of complaining about every policy formulated by the government.

He pleaded with Nigerians to be discriminating in their consumption of news, adding that casting their country in a bad light would drive away potential investors and hinder economic growth.

Dangote said, “How do they expect a government to function without paying taxes. But you have to pay tax; they want to increase VAT, people shout; they want to charge right pricing on petrol products and some people say no.

“So, where is the money going to come from? So, it is a collective responsibility. If you want to be safe, you have to contribute your own quota to be safe. It doesn’t come that cheaper.

“We have to be careful with the kind of news we disseminate because in areas where there is no peace, nobody will invest and that is why it is always good for us to talk good about the country.

“The question of security is everybody’s business. Even us, today, we cannot do any business without security and that is why the private sector promised to put in N100bn to support the police in terms of security.

“Take the issue of Kagara (in Niger State where they kidnapped school children), there were only eight policemen in a big Local Government Area like Kagara. So these are the issues.”

According to 2021 Forbes’ billionaires list Dangote retained the top spot of Africa’s richest person with a net worth of $11.5 billion, making him the 191st wealthiest person in the world.

He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company, and has shares in publicly-traded salt and sugar manufacturing companies.

His wealth has risen by $5.7b, according to Forbes.