Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has proposed selling his refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to counter allegations of monopoly in the fuel industry.
In an exclusive interview with Premium Times on Sunday, Dangote expressed his willingness to sell the Dangote Refinery, hoping to address concerns that his control over the refinery constitutes a monopoly.
“Let them (NNPCL) buy me out and run the refinery the best way they can. They have labelled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s OK. If they buy me out, at least, their so-called monopolist would be out of the way,” Dangote stated.
The controversy began when Farouk Ahmed, CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, claimed that the Dangote Refinery had requested exclusive rights to supply fuel in Nigeria. Ahmed argued that relying on a single refinery would threaten the nation’s energy security and market health.
“We cannot rely heavily on one refinery to feed the nation,” Ahmed remarked in a video interview with State House correspondents. He added that the Dangote Refinery’s product quality is below the West African standard of 50 ppm sulphur content, producing between 650 to 1,200 ppm, which he deemed inferior to imported products.
Dangote acknowledged the challenges his refinery is facing and shared his reflections on the advice he received from friends and associates about investing heavily in Nigeria.
“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,” Dangote said.
The Dangote Refinery, which began operations last year, has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. It was established to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign fuel imports and to save foreign exchange. Despite its potential to resolve Nigeria’s long-standing fuel crisis, Dangote feels that some stakeholders are uncomfortable with his involvement.
