Chairman of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has clarified that his company did not receive any incentive from the Federal Government or Lagos State before or during the construction of the group’s groundbreaking refinery in Lagos.
Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual spoke to journalists in Lagos on Saturday.
He said, “You heard what I said. In the refinery, we did not, and I repeat, we did not collect one single incentive from the federal government of Nigeria or from even the Lagos State.
“Lagos maybe they gave us a good deal, but we paid $100,000,000 for the land. It wasn’t free land. We paid for it. People are always looking at the other side.”
He highlighted his company’s role as a pioneer in various industries, often being the first mover to encourage others to follow.
This approach, he noted, has led to misconceptions about the company being a monopoly.
He said, “Whatever we do, we add value. We are not an assembly plant.
“If you look at all our operations as Dangote, we actually add value. We take local raw materials and turn them into products and we sell.
“So which means it’s a cyclical economy, which we are practising. Everything, you know, is here. Everything is in Nigeria. The farmers, the banks, the mines, the banks, everything is about local.
“It is the main reason why we were number 2 in flour milling, but we sold it because the wheat is being imported from abroad.
“So the more wheat we use, the more jobs we create out there. And that’s why we cancel that.”
In addressing Nigeria’s long-standing petrol shortages, Dangote noted the refinery’s capability to produce Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by mid-August, despite a recent fire incident causing delays.
He said, “This country has been having petrol queues since when the majority of you here were not even born, since 1972. 52 years. And we are still having the same issue.
“PMS was supposed to be out by this July but, you know, we had the fire incident. The incident that we had actually disrupted us for a few days.
“But by, latest 10th or 12th August, PMS will be ready.
“So just for the fact that we are ready and about to start, everybody is now, up and about.
“What is giving us a lot of joy is that we know that the majority of the population, they are with us. So we are not discouraged. We’ll continue what we are doing.”
The group’s chairman invited regulators and the media to verify the quality of their products, emphasizing transparency and the use of certified testing bodies like SGS or Kotekina.
Furthermore, Dangote mentioned the importance of the OB3 gas pipeline, operated by NNPC, for enhancing the viability of their investments and contributing to the overall energy system.
He expressed optimism that the pipeline would be delivered as promised.
Recently, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, accused international oil companies of hindering the refinery’s launch by selling crude oil at inflated prices in Nigeria and suggested that many imported fuel products were substandard.
Speaking at a session with Energy Editors during a one-day training program organised by the Dangote Group, Edwin detailed the challenges faced by their refinery.
“The IOCs are intentionally obstructing the refinery’s efforts to purchase local crude by inflating premium prices above market rates,” Edwin asserted.
He explained that these inflated prices forced the refinery to seek crude from distant sources like the United States, significantly driving up production costs.
“While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is supportive and tries to allocate local crude for us, the IOCs are deliberately frustrating our efforts,” Edwin stated.
However, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) countered these claims saying that the quality of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery was poor.
Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, had said, “Dangote Refinery, as well as some modular refineries like Watersmith Refinery and Aradel Refinery, are producing between 650 and 1,200 PPM.
“Therefore, in terms of quality, their products are inferior to imported ones.”
A charge which Dangote later dismissed as baseless, unfounded and misleading.
“The false and misleading allegations made by some media outlets that the Dangote Refinery is producing substandard diesel, which is why it reduced the price by 37%, are baseless and mischievous,” Chiejina stated.
“Until late last year, diesel imports into Nigeria contained up to 7,000 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur, a practice that has persisted for many years.
“Our diesel is produced with significantly lower sulfur levels, making the quality-related allegations groundless. Our product is 80% superior to what is being imported into the country,” the company’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, said.
