Africa’s richest man and President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has accused corrupt individuals in Nigeria’s oil sector of inflating the country’s daily petrol consumption figures for personal gain, especially during the fuel subsidy era.
Speaking during a visit by Global CEO Africa members to the Dangote Refinery, Dangote said Nigeria does not consume as much petrol as the official figures claim. According to him, the real figure is about 33 million litres per day, not the 45–50 million litres often reported by government agencies.
“The fuel requirement of Nigeria, based on our own estimation, is 33 million litres daily. But because it was a subsidised product, the numbers were bloated — sometimes even up to 90 million litres. But we don’t have that many vehicles,” Dangote stated.
He added that the corruption in the sector discouraged him from initially investing in oil. “We didn’t want to get into oil because it has been very messy in Nigeria. It’s a mafia business, full of corruption,” he said.
According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), daily petrol consumption ranged between 45 and 50 million litres during the 2024 festive season, down from an average of 66 million litres in 2023 before the fuel subsidy was removed by President Bola Tinubu.
NMDPRA is yet to respond to Dangote’s recent remarks.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) admitted there are irregularities in the oil sector but argued that fuel consumption figures fluctuate depending on the time of year and market forces.
Chinedu Ukadike, IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, said: “Fuel usage reduced after the subsidy was removed and with the shift to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). What matters most is the availability of products nationwide.”
Dangote also gave figures for other petroleum products, stating that diesel consumption is closer to 10 million litres daily (not 14 million, as claimed by regulators), while aviation fuel usage is about 3 million litres daily due to fewer flights.
He said the Dangote Refinery will produce 104 million litres of fuel per day, with 46 million litres serving local needs and 58 million litres earmarked for export. He believes the facility is key to ending Africa’s fuel import dependence.
“This refinery is Africa’s solution to years of fuel importation. We stepped in only because the continent needed to become self-sufficient,” Dangote added.