Africa’s richest man and Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Tuesday evening.
Dangote arrived shortly before 7:00 p.m. and left about 30 minutes later without speaking to journalists. It was the first time both men met in person at the Villa since President Tinubu toured the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos on June 5.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not disclosed, the visit comes at a critical time in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Dangote has made strong remarks in recent weeks about the condition of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries and has announced plans to bypass traditional fuel marketers.
On July 11, Dangote said that government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna may never function properly again, despite spending over \$18 billion on their rehabilitation. He called for urgent policy changes to fix the downstream oil sector.
In mid-June, he also announced that his refinery would begin direct fuel supply to retailers and major consumers starting August 15. This move has drawn protests from the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria, who fear job losses in the traditional fuel supply chain.
Dangote, 67, built his business empire through cement, sugar, and flour, before investing about \$20 billion into the Lekki-based refinery, now the largest single-train refinery in Africa. His recent push for reform in the oil sector continues to stir conversations at the highest levels of government and industry.
