Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has blamed the Nigerian government’s devaluation of the naira for his company’s woes in 2023, calling it the “biggest mess” of the year.
Mr Dangote, whose Dangote Industries Limited has interest in cement, food and oil and gas, said the naira’s fall from 460 to 1400 to the US dollar in less than a year really impacted Dangote’s operations, and the company is working hard to still pay dividends this year.
He said nearly all businesses, especially in food and beverage sectors, will not be paying dividends to shareholders as a result of the devaluation.
“We are doing whatever it takes to make sure that at the end of the day, we will be paying dividends because if you look at our dividends last year, it was almost 50 percent more so we will try and get out of the mess,” Mr Dangote said Tuesday during a meeting with Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc’s shareholders.
“The biggest mess created was actually the devaluation of the naira from N460 to N1,400. You can see almost 97 percent of the companies, especially in food and beverages businesses, none of them will pay dividends this year for sure but, we will try and get out of it as soon as possible.
“We want to see that at the end of the day, no matter how small, we will be able to pay some dividends, especially if there is a rebound of the naira,” he said.
Naira and Nascon merger
President Bola Tinubu’s signature economic policies, particularly the devaluation of the naira and removal of petrol subsidies, have caused significant hardship in Nigeria in the last year. Backed by the International Monetary Fund, these policies have triggered unprecedented economic turmoil impacting both individuals and businesses.
The naira plummeted from N460 to over N1,700, inflicting heavy operational losses on companies and forcing some to cease operations entirely. The retail price of petrol has skyrocketed from N185 to over N700. The combined effect of these policies drove inflation to a nearly three-decade high of 33.2% in March, putting immense strain on the Nigerian people and economy.
Mr Dangote said the planned merger between Dangote Sugar Refinery, Nascon Allied Industries, and Dangote Rice Limited was suspended because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required Dangote Rice to be operational before approving the merger.
He said the rice factory in Jigawa state is nearing completion and will be commissioned soon. He said that Dangote Sugar will revisit the merger application when the time is right.
The initial announcement in September sparked a surge in share prices for Dangote-linked companies as investors saw promise in the consolidation.
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