THE President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, says he is still fighting for the survival of his $20bn refinery, stressing that the fight is not yet finished.
Dangote expressed optimism that he would win the fight for the refinery, stating his determination to fight on.
According to Semafor, an international news medium, Africa’s richest man spoke at an investor forum in Lagos over the weekend.
The report stated that Dangote pointed out that some individuals who “for a very, very long time” have “made a lot of money from” government-subsidised oil imports into Nigeria, were the ones trying to sabotage the 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery situated in Lekki, Lagos.
Dangote was quoted as saying that “those groups have funded resistance to the Bola Tinubu government’s removal of petrol subsidies and are opposed to the refinery operating easily in the country.”
However, Dangote was confident that the battle between him and the groups would be won, priding himself as a long-time fighter.
“We’re fighting, and the fight is not yet finished. But I have been fighting all my life, and I am ready and 100 per cent sure I will win at the end of the day,” he was quoted.
Dangote’s latest comments came as Nigeria plans to increase its capacity to stockpile petroleum products, to prepare against shocks to the global oil market following US President Donald Trump’s shake-up of international trade with the threat of tariffs.
Recall that Dangote has since last year raised the alarm that some mafias were sabotaging his refinery.
He specifically mentioned that some international oil companies were sabotaging his investment by denying the facility adequate crude supply despite the domestic crude supply obligation.
Dangote had alleged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was issuing licences to marketers to import substandard petroleum products into the country.
He vowed to push his $20bn refinery to full operational capacity despite what he said were challenges from oil importers seeking to undermine his venture to retain their dominance in the country’s energy sector.
At a point last year, Dangote said he regretted building the refinery, saying the mafias in the oil and gas sector were stronger than those of drugs.
However, he refused to give up on the project as the facility targets its full capacity soon.
This newspaper recalls that the Dangote Group boss once accused some powerful individuals of frustrating his refinery.
“In a system where, for 35 years, people are used to counting good money, and all of a sudden, they see that the days of counting that money have come to an end, you don’t expect them to pray for you. Of course, you expect them to fight back.
“And I think that is the process that we’re now really going through. But the truth is that, yes, the country, the sub-region, and also the continent of sub-Saharan Africa, need this refinery. So, you expect them to fight through non-supply of crude, non-purchase of the product, but I think it’s all temporary. We’ll get there,” Dangote added.
He had recalled that he was once persuaded by a former Minister of Energy in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, to shelve the idea of building a refinery. However, he said he told the former minister that he did not need his advice.
In June 2024, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, accused IOCs in Nigeria of plans to frustrate the survival of the new Dangote refinery.
Edwin said the IOCs were “deliberately and willfully frustrating” the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by hiking the cost above the market price, thereby forcing the refinery to import crude from countries as far as the United States, with its attendant high costs.
Edwin also accused the NMDPRA of granting licences indiscriminately to marketers to import dirty refined products into the country.
“It appears that the objective of the IOCs is to ensure that Nigeria remains a country that exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum products. They (IOCs) are keen on exporting the raw materials to their home countries, creating employment and wealth for their countries, adding to their Gross Domestic Product, and dumping the expensive refined products into Nigeria – thus making us dependent on imported products,” Edwin had stated.
The refinery, which started petrol production last September, is seen as a way for Africa’s biggest crude oil producer to end its reliance on the costly importation of refined fuel.
It was reported that the refinery’s entry has helped push down the pump prices of refined products even as retailers count their losses.
With the naira-for-crude deal, the Dangote refinery promised to ensure enough fuel supply to Nigeria, Africa, and the world.