The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has expressed his concern over the ongoing tensions between the Nigerian government and businessman Aliko Dangote.

Emir Sanusi emphasized that Dangote should not be blamed for purchasing dollars at lower rates during the construction of his refinery, as those were the rates set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time.

Speaking through the SOP Chat Group, the Emir stated, "Aliko Dangote did not fix the price at which the CBN sold dollars. Everyone who got dollars from the CBN got them at the same rate if they bought on the same day. So, we cannot blame him for buying dollars at a rate the CBN itself decided to sell to its customers."

He further elaborated, "Let us forget the man, Dangote. If the Central Bank were to prioritize a single enterprise for forex allocation, how many enterprises can we think of that are worthier than a refinery like this one?

"Consider the drain on our forex from importing petroleum products; the tens of billions of dollars of forex spent abroad; the huge losses due to theft in the name of subsidy.

"By the way, how much forex did Dangote buy from the CBN at this subsidized rate? How much forex did NNPC take from the federation account in the same year in the name of running and turning around its dead refineries? What are we benchmarking against?

"If any Nigerian came to me as a Central Bank Governor with a project like this refinery, I would recognize immediately its potential impact on the economy and give it all the support needed.

"Let our views on forex policies not becloud our sense of priorities. Once the CBN decided to sell dollars below market rate, it would be forced to ration the limited dollars available."