Monopolist tag: Dangote threatens to sell off refinery, says ‘my wealthy friends taunting me for investing in Nigeria’
Billionaire businessman and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has said he is willing to sell his oil refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Aliko spoke in an interview with Premium Times on Sunday.
The billionaire’s statement comes amid a dispute between the refinery and the nation’s petroleum industry regulatory authorities.
“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled me a monopolist,” Dangote said.
“That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s okay. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way.
“We have been facing fuel crisis since the 70s. This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture.
“As you probably know, I am 67 years old, in less than three years, I will be 70. I need very little to live the rest of my life.
“I can’t take the refinery or any other property or asset to my grave. Everything I do is in the interest of my country.
“So, I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery. At least the country will have high-quality products and create jobs.”
In May 2023, the billionaire’s refinery was inaugurated. The 650,000 barrel-per-day sits on a 2, 635 hectares of land located in the free zone area of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The facility began the production of diesel on January 12, but petrol supply is billed for August after numerous factors — including crude supply challenges and a fire outbreak at the facility — stalled production.
The constraints on accessing crude feedstock from international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria forced the company to import crude from countries like Brazil and the US to bridge the meet supply.
At the inauguration, Dangote refinery had announced that it has a supply deal with the NNPC and previously agreed to a 20 percent equity participation.
The refinery later said only 7.2 percent had been fully paid for before the deadline issued to the company to acquire the stake.
According to the Premium Times report, Dangote also said the obstacles his refinery is facing seem to have vindicated friends and associates who advised him to tread with caution as he pumped billions of dollars into the Nigerian economy.
“Four years ago, one of my very wealthy friends began to invest his money abroad,” Dangote added.
“I disagreed with him and urged him to rethink his action in the interest of his country.
“He blamed his action on policy inconsistencies and shenanigans of interest groups.
“That friend has been taunting me in the past few days, saying he warned me and that he has been proven right.”
On June 4, Dangote said some IOCs were struggling to supply crude to his refinery.
Speaking on Arise TV on July 15, Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) described the claim as “erroneous”, noting that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has provisions that guide willing buyer-willing seller transactions.
But a few days later, the management of Dangote Industries Limited insisted that the IOCs were frustrating its request to purchase crude feedstock for the refinery.
On July 18, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, were producing inferior products compared to imported ones. He also alleged that the refinery was asking it not to allow importation of petroleum products in the country to allow for monopoly.
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