Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has expressed frustration over the ongoing issues surrounding the Dangote Refinery. He believes that the refinery has the potential to address Nigeria’s long-standing fuel crisis, but perceives opposition from various quarters. Dangote has even offered to sell the refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC).
The refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and an estimated cost of $19 billion, aims to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products, potentially saving the country around 30% of its foreign exchange expenditure on imports.
Dangote has accused local and foreign interests, which he described as a “mafia,” of trying to obstruct the refinery’s completion. Following these allegations, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) claimed that the refinery’s diesel quality was inferior to imported products, with a measurement of 665 ppm. The NMDPRA’s CEO, Farouk Ahmed, also mentioned that the refinery has not yet received a license to begin operations.
In response to these challenges, Dangote stated, “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.”
Despite the controversies, Dangote remains hopeful that the refinery can play a crucial role in resolving Nigeria’s fuel issues.