Aliko Dangote insists his refinery does not represent a monopoly but calls for more large, capable players in Nigeria’s fuel industry, while lambasting corruption in fuel imports and contrasting his plant’s efficiency with that of NNPC.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man, has denied that his holdings in cement and petroleum amount to a monopoly, arguing instead that the Nigerian economy requires more companies with sufficient scale and resources to compete. He made the comments in a recent video about the US$20 billion Dangote Refinery.
“If we don’t make money, nobody will come into this business. Then you end up with only one supplier. We don’t want to be a monopoly; we want other players in the business. But other players cannot come to a soccer field and want to play cricket, you will wound somebody,” Dangote said.
Dangote also criticised the existing fuel import-regulation regime, citing corruption: “The majority of those fuel-importing ships, when they come, don’t discharge all. The person checking is collecting a salary of N100,000, so it’s easy for him to accept an envelope of $10,000 and sign whatever documents you give him.” He contrasted this with the inefficiencies he perceives in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) refining operations, noting Dangote’s refinery produces about 54% gasoline from crude compared to just 18% for NNPC, which he says loses money.
The refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, began operations in 2024. It is intended to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, save up to US$25 billion annually in foreign exchange, and generate thousands of jobs.