Dangote offers to sell multibillion-dollar refinery amid monopoly allegations
Aliko Dangote, the CEO of Dangote Refinery and Africa's wealthiest man, has proposed selling his multibillion-dollar oil refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL). This offer follows allegations of monopoly within the industry.
In an exclusive interview with Premium Times on July 21, Dangote expressed his willingness to relinquish ownership to the state-owned energy company. "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," he stated.
Dangote highlighted the ongoing fuel crisis in Nigeria since the 1970s and asserted that his refinery could play a crucial role in resolving the issue. "This refinery can help in resolving the problem but it does appear some people are uncomfortable that I am in the picture. So I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery," he added.
The billionaire businessman addressed the allegations after Farouk Ahmed, CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, claimed that the Dangote refinery had asked the regulator to stop issuing import licenses to other marketers, aiming to be the sole fuel supplier in Nigeria, according to local media Punch.
In May, speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, Dangote asserted that his refinery could meet Africa's aviation fuel demands, emphasising that Nigeria has no reason to import gasoline from anywhere else in the world.
Commissioned in February, the Dangote refinery, which produces 650,000 barrels of gasoline per day, is reported to be Africa’s largest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.
